If you want to operate commercially into the EU (or certain associated states), you’ll need a Third Country Operator (TCO) Authorisation from EASA. The process is free and straightforward if you meet ICAO standards – just a bit time-consuming to get all the paperwork together.

What is it, and who needs one?

A Third Country Operator is any non-European aircraft operator conducting commercial air transport flights into the EU. That includes BizAv charter flights intending to operate commercially. Private flights are exempt.

There’s also a provision for “one-off” or short-notice non-scheduled commercial flights without a TCO authorisation. These are strictly limited to urgent public interest missions – such as humanitarian, disaster relief, or air ambulance flights – and can be approved for operations of up to 12 weeks.

What’s being assessed?

The regulation requires TCOs to hold an authorisation issued by EASA to confirm they meet international operational and safety standards in line with ICAO requirements. 

Common Gotchas

• Do you have a Safety Management System (SMS)? Even if SMS is not required by your local regulator, EASA expects these applicable international standards to be complied with when operating to the EU.
• You need a Flight Data Analysis Programme (FDAP) if your aircraft’s MTOW is greater than 27,000 kg (59,500 lbs).
• Do you comply with the reinforced cockpit door regulations? 
• Are you compliant with Mode S Elementary, ADS-B Out, and Mode S Enhanced Surveillance? Or do you have a plan in place to retrofit? 

If you’re a Part 121-style operator from a well-regulated state, you’ll likely already meet these standards. Part 135 operators may need to address a few gaps.

You can check who already has a TCO here: EASA TCO Holder List. 

How closely will EASA check? 

EASA applies a risk-based approach when reviewing applications. This takes into account:

• Your own safety performance and history
• The safety record of your State of Operator and State of Registry
• Your level of exposure to European citizens

Operators from well-regulated states with a clean record and modern fleet – for example, an Australian operator with no incidents – will generally face less scrutiny than those from higher-risk environments.

Note: You do not need IS-BAO certification to obtain a TCO. If you have it, great, but EASA assesses each application individually and may request extra info if needed.

How to get a TCO?

The good news? It’s still free to apply, and the process is straightforward if you have your paperwork ready. Here’s how it works in 2025:

It’s actually pretty simple to apply:

1. Submit your application – Download the latest application form from the EASA website, complete it, and email it to tco.applications@easa.europa.eu (cc tco@easa.europa.eu) – electronic submissions only. Attach the mandatory documents: Certificate of Incorporation, Air Operator Certificate (AOC) or Air Carrier Certificate (ACC), and Operations Specifications (Ops Specs).
2. Complete the Basic Operator Data – Once you receive login credentials for the TCO web-interface, log in immediately and complete the Basic Operator Data within 7 days. It takes a few hours, so gather AOCs, insurance certificates, and aircraft documents in advance. The portal is still clunky, so hit “save” often. Keep your fleet and contact details up to date.
3. Submit and respond to follow-ups – EASA’s technical evaluation can take up to 30 days. They may ask follow-up technical questions; you’ll need to reference your manuals and reply via the portal.
4. Get your approval – Once satisfied, EASA will issue your TCO authorisation. It has no expiry date, but continuous monitoring applies, so be ready to respond to periodic information requests.

For most operators, getting and keeping a TCO is free. EASA only charges fees if your risk profile warrants it – for example, if they need to hold a technical meeting (from €10,000) or conduct an on-site audit (from €19,000 plus travel costs). 

What’s next after approval?

Maintain compliance – EASA monitors operators through ramp checks and document reviews, so be prepared at all times. Keep your TCO portal information up to date, and respond promptly to any EASA communication.

Remember, your TCO authorisation is simply EASA’s safety thumbs-up. You may still need to arrange the usual overflight/landing permits from each EU Member State, depending on the nature of your flight and the national rules in place. In other words, TCO gets you through the safety gate, but you still have to knock on the door of each country you plan to operate to.

Extra Reading:

• EASA TCO Website
• EASA TCO FAQs

Hi everyone!

The latest QRH and Checklist for Vegas is now here.

Ops Alert – August 14, 2300Z

• A mass evacuation of aircraft is taking place at the moment from Tripoli, including a number of A330 and A320 aircraft from both the largest carrier (Afriqiyah) and smaller operators. Inbound flights are also diverting, and the Libyan government aircraft, a King Air 350, is also being taken out of Tripoli. Almost all aircraft are being repositioned to Misrata (HLMS) – with approximately 25 aircraft being moved.
• The reason for the evacuation is violent clashes involving gunfire taking place at Tripoli Mitiga airport (HLLM), as well as on road leading into Tripoli itself. Earlier on Monday night the head of ‘444 brigade’ that controls much of Tripoli, was detained at Mitiga airport by the Special Deterrence Force. The resulting risk to aircraft operations was deemed sufficiently high to begin the removal of aircraft to a safer location.
• This situation highlights the instability of the security situation in Libya. With the airspace closure in Niger last week, routes over Africa have become very limited, and Libya/the Tripoli FIR may seem a tempting alternative.
• Operators considering a Libya overflight should consider routings very carefully. This is the most significant aviation security event in Libya in the last few years, and highlights the ongoing risk to operations.

Refer to safeairspace.net/libya for the background, and ops.group/blog/2023-is-libya-safe-to-overfly-yet for more information.

A timely summary of the risk to civilian operators in the Tripoli FIR, from earlier in 2023, gathered by OPSGROUP from neighboring ATC units:

• The ATM/CNS situation in the HLLL FIR is very basic and from our experience there are issues with communications and surveillance (or the lack of it).
• There is a lot of military activity which is not always known to Tripoli and Benghazi ACCs also due to these communication and coverage issues.
• There are still issues regarding coordination between the Tripoli and Benghazi ACCs. One seems to have certain rules which the other ignores. It is very frequent for example that either one or both reject overflights resulting in significant re-routings which we have to sort out (normally military flights) but not excluding civilian flights – sometimes even Libyan flights.
• We see a lot of remotely piloted aircraft operating in the airspace which as far as we know are not operating in segregated airspace nor are they being controlled by the ATC units.
• Only recently Libyan controllers went on a flash strike informing us that they cannot continue to handle the traffic with no radar equipment.
• The AIS services are not functioning properly and the status of the airports is unknown.

Hello members!

We hope you’re doing well!

It’s been a few months since we wrote with a “Member Update” … and there are a lot of things to tell you about. Big ones first, little ones last, but read to the end for the best one (Dave making waffles).

#1 The New OPSGROUP Crew Room

OPSGROUP is more fun when you do it with others, as the saying goes. We’re in the midst of building out our fresh new Crew Room. Other members are here and you can speak with them, and us!

Get involved:

• Link: ops.group/crewroom
• Check that your profile is correct, and upload a pic of yourself.
• Draw a better logo for the Crew Room and send it to us!

#2 Crew Room access

We use an app called Slack to run the crewroom. Download it for your phone or desktop. Use your member email to login.

Once you get there, do this:

1. Check your profile: does it show your full name?
2. Upload a picture.
3. Now you have full access to the Crew Room!

#3 Ops Kitchen

The #ops_kitchen is the channel in the Crew Room where the OPSGROUP Team hangs out. We’ve made this a public channel so you can see what we’re talking about, and help out if you like. Things we talk about here: today’s ops and airspace issues, ops alert preparation, new things we’re making, maps, charts, guides, and so on.

Get involved:  If you want to be part of making new things for the group, or just curious what’s going on today, join this channel. We look forward to seeing you there!

Link: CrewRoom: #ops_kitchen

#4 OPSGROUP LOCAL

LOCAL is more fun than global. With 8000+ members, we thought it would make sense to start some local “branches”: even Antarctica and Timbuktu have a smattering of members.

The local branch is for those based there, and those visiting. You can connect with other members near you, and perhaps organize a meetup or a visit to the local ATC unit. Update the rest of the group on what’s happening where you are, and help visiting crews coming your way.

We’re starting with these locations:

#newzealand
#australia
#singapore
#hongkong
#italy

Get involved:  If you are based in any of those spots, or headed there .. join the channel and post a quick intro to say hi!

As we add more, we’ll post a note in the #crew_lounge channel. Tell us where you’d like the next local set up?

#5 Weird, new, risky, curious?

The only person that really knows what’s happening out there is YOU. Logically, if you don’t tell us, we won’t know. So if you’re downroute (or uproute) and you come across something in the wild that doesn’t make sense – tell us, please!

Not sure what to report on? Here’s the litmus test: would you mention it to another crew going to the same place? If yes, then, tell us so we can tell all the other crews.

The easiest way is to add our number to your phone: +1 747 200 1993, and send us a WhatsApp message (with photos, too!) when you spot something new.

Or, you can email us: news@ops.group.

Thank you for keeping the group up to date!

#6 Atlantic

The North Atlantic is topic-of-interest-number-one for OPSGROUP members, so we’ve set up a LOCAL channel just for the Atlantic ocean region: probably mostly about NAT (North Atlantic) flying, but also mid/south Atlantic, EUR/SAM corridor etc. NAT topics, HLA, NAT Tracks, Clearances, Procedures, etc.

In the last few days some good discussion about:

* Removal of Oceanic Clearance issuance (in next NAT Doc 007)
* New Lost Comms procedure for the NAT
* New Squawk 2000 procedure (10 mins instead of 30 mins)

Get involved:   Join that conversation in the Crew Room: #atlantic

#7 Danger Club – ideas for the next one?

Danger Club is the OPSGROUP spot for some dangerous conversations about things that happen in the cockpit. If you’ve joined any of the first eleven sessions, you know how it works. If you haven’t, join the next one (and have a look at dangerrr.club).

We have a new channel in the Crew Room for Danger Club, and if this sounds like you, join the conversation: Crew Room: #dangerclub

Get involved:  We’re planning the next Danger Club (#12) and need a good incident to look at. Have you any ideas? Remember, this is all about how we are as humans in the cockpit, so we focus on incidents with some “interesting” human behaviour to give us some talking points to start.

Also, we’re hoping to do a Danger Club Live at NBAA 2023 in Vegas – more on that below.

Link: Crew Room: #dangerclub

#8 We have a spy in our midst

Actually, we have dozens. Are you one of them?

Airport Spy is getting busy lately: thank you to everyone who has been busy filing reports. You can help out too: when you get back after your trip, or downroute and bored at the hotel: use Airport Spy to write a quick summary.

These are useful for you the next time you visit the airport, but even more useful for other crews that haven’t visited yet. Sloppy handling, average ATC, or just an amazing experience – whatever you encountered, take 2 minutes and jot down the highlights.

Get involved:   In the Dashboard, use the “File Spy Report” link as shown below:

#9 Vegas OPSGROUP meetup! Hands required

We’re heading for Las Vegas and the focus is: Waffles. Chef Dave will be on hand to lead the team, but we’re looking for volunteers to help run our club stand while he does the waffling.

NBAA BACE 2023 is on from Oct 17-19. If you’re going, and have some time to help out, let us know! Join the #vegas2023 channel in the Crew Room.

Our plans:

• The OPSGROUP Team will attend in full
• We will have a Club Stand in the North Hall of the Convention Centre
• Get involved:  Members wanted! Help out for an hour: there will be lots to do!
• We will have some good merch (see below) – Tshirts, pins, stickers, and Tiny Cock Pit Kits.
• Member drop in: stop by and say hello (even if just for a minute)
• OpsQuiz Live – we’ll host our famous Ops Quiz live (MC Dave)
• Danger Club Live – we’re planning a live version for Vegas
• Actual waffles
• Actual coffee (New Zealand style Flat Whites)
• more to come! 

Got some more Vegas ideas for us? Let us know!

Link: Crew Room: #vegas2023 

#10 Vegas Merch

Right now we’re busy desiging some flight bag stickers … and we need some member help with more ideas. We want to have a bunch ready for members at Vegas ’23 – what should we make? Ideas please either in the #vegas2023 channel in the Crew Room, or … email us.

• T-Shirt ideas
• Sticker ideas
• Other ideas! 

#11 Everything else

That was a lot. Did you read it all? Good. If you’re not still here, we’ll wrap up with some snippets. These are them:

• Coffee & Waffle : Our old Ops Chats were good, but we paused these last year and we think we can do better. We’re planning a new regular online meeting called Coffee & Waffle. It’s nothing more than an excuse to get together as members and have some good old fashioned chats. Thoughts on this? Email us. We’re thinking once a month, not recorded, no agenda, we’ll do it live!
• Tell us stuff! We’ll ask again because we’re really keen to get your updates: scroll up for the WhatsApp number to text us new things! THANK YOU!
• Ask us stuff! If there’s something on your mind, just email us. We like email, and we like replying, and we will!
• And that’s the end of the end of the updates, for this time. Have a smashing weekend!

Effective July 1st, Portugal has introduced a new tax directed at business aviation. If you are operating an aircraft with 19 seats or less, you’ll have to pay the hefty new tax – a G650 operating Lisbon-Newark will get a bill for around €2,000 (US$2,200).

It’s billed as a “Carbon Tax” – ostensibly to mirror the same regulation that has applied since 2021 to airline passengers. However, an airline operating the same route with 250 passengers will only pay €500, despite having a fuel burn three times higher.

As such, it’s better labeled as a Punishment Tax for business aviation.

Tech stops in the Azores are included

If you are planning a tech stop in the Azores (LPLA/Lajes or LPAZ/Santa Maria, for example) – think again. The Azores is “Portuguese Territory” and so covered by the new tax, and the exemption for “technical reasons” doesn’t mean tech stops. So, if you divert in with a fire warning, no tax. If LPAZ or LPLA is your destination, however, you can add about $2,000 USD to your invoice.

You might want to find another NAT tech-stop.

How to calculate your bill

The official regulation is here (Artigo 184.º) – in Portuguese. The basics are:

1. From July 2023, a carbon tax is introduced for “consumers of air travel on aircraft with a maximum capacity of up to 19 seats” ,
2. The amount to pay is calculated as: € (TC x CP x L x (D + 1)). TC is the Carbon Tax (€2), CP is a Coefficient of Pollution (10x), L is the number of seats and D is the distance flown in kilometres divided by 1000.
3. The fee applies to each commercial and non-commercial flight departing from airports in Portuguese territory.
4. Exemptions: “Fully electric aircraft”, PSO flights, State, Instruction, Medical emergency, SAR, and departures following landings for technical, meteorological or similar contingency reasons.

Examples: G650 Lisbon-Newark, G7500 Azores-Cairo

The formula can be more easily written as:
€20 x Seats x Distance

• A Gulfstream 650 with 14 seats operating LPPT/Lisbon – KEWR/New York Newark: The distance is 5,447km. The charge is thus €20 x 14 x (5.4+1) will get a bill for 1,792 Euro ($2,000 USD).
• A Global 7500 with 19 seats calling in to LPAZ/Santa Maria for gas on the way to Cairo: the LPAZ-HECA distance is 5,223 km. The charge here is €20 x 19 x (5.2+1) = 2,356 Euro ($2,600 USD)
• For comparison, an Airbus 330-200 operating LPPT/Lisbon – KEWR/New York Newark will pay 500 Euro ($550 USD). The charge is simply based on €2 per passenger (250 on board). An A330 will burn about 90,000 lbs of fuel, compared to about 30,000 lbs for a G650. This means that the G650 is being charged about 12 times more in total.

Why is this happening?

Because of the “war” on private jets declared by Greenpeace and other groups. Their aim: tax business jets out of existance.

Although the new tax only came into effect a few days ago, it was signed into law in April 2023. The first few months of this year saw media across Europe pay attention to a Greenpeace “report” on business aviation, claiming massive increases in business jet use using super-flawed data (their baseline was 2020, which wasn’t that busy for some reason). The EBAA countered with some actual facts, but it wasn’t enough to stop the disinformation spread.

In Portugal, the PAN (People, Animals, Nature) political party convinced the government to sign this tax into law as a budget amendment.

So who has to pay, and who doesn’t?

Since this has just come into effect, expect further clarifications and changes, but so far:

👿 Pay the punishment tax:

• Any flight leaving Portgual using an aircraft with 19 seats or less (aka all business jets)
• Irrelevant if commerical or private ops – all must pay

🦄 Exempt from the punishment tax:

• Fully electric aircraft (If you see one flying, let us know)
• PSO flights (A European thing where governments give you money to operate unpopular routes, so they would be charging themselves)
• State flights (The government exempting themselves again)
• Flights wholly operated by reticulated, northern, or southern giraffes (we threw that in, but it makes as much sense as the others)
• Medevac, training, SAR flights, and diversions for unforeseen events

More on the tax

There’s plenty of uncertainty around the new rules for now, but we’ll update this article as we find out more.

• EBAA – Portugal introduces new Carbon Tax
• FCC Aviation – Portugal Carbon Tax
• Original law (in Portuguese)

Do you know more about this? Help us out with any new information! Email news@ops.group or post below in the comments – Obrigado!

From May 8-12, the NOTAM Alliance will host a NOTAM SPRINT: a workshop to create a framework for a vastly improved NOTAM Briefing for pilots and dispatchers. The NOTAM Alliance is a user-led group of airlines and aircraft operators focused on radically changing how NOTAMs are provided to flight crews, and includes major airlines like Austrian, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus and United Airlines.

The background to the NOTAM Sprint is a year of tremendous gains in NOTAM improvement. 2023 started with an FAA system failure, which in turn brought global attention to the NOTAM issues that pilots face every day – oversized 50-page+ briefing packages that are impossible for crews to parse. This creates a huge safety risk: critical updates affecting their airports and route of flight are regularly missed.

After decades of attempts to solve the NOTAM problem, the advances in Artificial Intelligence and a fresh approach to the core issues in 2023 led to a two-month review of the content of NOTAM messages. During February and March, a working group of 50 pilots, dispatchers and NOTAM experts created a “Top 50” list of tags that can be applied to any NOTAM, across 9 categories: Airport, Approach, Runway, Taxiway, ATC, Navigation, Airspace, Hazards, and Library. A Large Language Model (LLM) can then used to apply the appropriate tag to any NOTAM, which allows them to be sorted and filtered.

The result is a shortened “SuperNOTAM” Briefing harnessing the “Dark Cockpit Philosophy” – presenting first only critical NOTAMs to flight crew, with the more routine operational NOTAMs in a Supplement for reference. Irrelevant NOTAMs are filtered out. Each airline can set their own preferences as to which NOTAM types are deemed most critical (eg. Runway closures, Fuel warnings, Rescue/Fire cover), and which are routine/operational (eg. Parking stand changes, frequency outages, taxiway changes). The most persistent “junk” NOTAMs – Birds, Grass Cutting, and Obstacle Light outages – can be consigned to the scrap heap if desired.

The NOTAM SPRINT aims to create a working prototype of the model, turning the theory into reality, and reducing the NOTAM content at least tenfold. Over five days, airlines, operators, pilots and dispatchers will work on the key areas of the model.

All users are welcome to particpiate in the event, which will have daily Zoom group chats, a Slack working group, and an evening Notam Newsletter to summarise the day’s progress. At the end of the five days, the goal is to have an open-source blueprint for a NOTAM model that all aircraft operators will be able to employ, and ultimately, bring long-awaited and much needed relief to flight crews and dispatchers worldwide.

To read more about the event, visit the event page NOTAM SPRINT 2023, and to register, use this link.

NOTAM SPRINT 2023 – links

• NOTAM SPRINT 2023: About this event
• Register for NOTAM SPRINT 2023
• NOTAM SPRINT Poster (PNG)
• The NOTAM Tags concept
• Fixing Notams – a guide
• The NOTAM Alliance – home

Join the weekly international ops call!

OPS CHAT is a conversation about this week’s changes and dangers affecting International Flight Ops, open to everyone!

It’s on every Tuesday at 1300 UTC.

It’s for Pilots, Dispatchers, ATC, and anyone else involved in international ops – and here are the key things we look at every week:

• New risks and changes this week affecting airspace, ATC, airports, and international ops
• The top 5 Ops Alerts published for OpsGroup members this week
• Conversation and chat
• Unsolved mysteries – unanswered questions from the Ops Group/Flight Ops slack channels.
• New member intros and group updates
• A general Q&A – bring a good Q and we’ll match it with an A.

When is it on? Tuesday at 1300 GMT/UTC/Z. That means: 6am LA (sorry!), 9am New York, 2pm London, 3pm Amsterdam. Bring a timezone appropriate drink (If you’re in a Brooklyn a coffee, if you’re in Berlin a coffee martini?) and join us for a group chat about all things ops.

OPS CHAT - register

If you’re stuck on something in particular (a pesky overflight permit for Peru, perhaps …) – ask your question and we’ll find someone that knows. For the weeks highlights, we’ll pop up a few maps and things to help show what’s happening, but mostly this is really just a chat and pretty casual. As you might have gathered.

How long is it on for? Ah, 30 minutes maybe? Or longer if things get interesting.

How do I join? You will need:

• 1x computer device (example here)
• Electrical power
• A face (because we like seeing you)
• A watch (set an alarm for Tuesday 12.59Z)
• Aaaand a Zoom registration: here.

So in short – register and then show up. Turn on your video, and take part. Easy!

Any other questions? Email the team!

Hello members,

We had a rather busy OPSCHAT call this afternoon; here is an outline of the topics discussed.
– The full call is available to replay in your Members Dashboard: OPSCHAT 01MAR Recording.
– The full text summary of the discussion points, with useful links and FAQ, is here: OPSCHAT Call Summary 01MAR.

Topics discussed:

• Russian operator ban – We clarified some of the rules regarding who specifically is affected. EU definition, impact on operators, impact on Russian passport holders, how this is already working in practice. FAQ on sanctions also uploaded.
• Russia Reroutes – Many operators looking at new routes and unfamiliar airports. Caution especially Himalyan routes if these are unfamiliar – high terrain, challenging airports. OPSGROUP preparing some specific guidance to assist
• Polish Airspace – Area of concern in south east portion of Warsaw FIR. High level of military activity. Short notice airspace closures are happening in Poland, be prepared – especially in the northern part of Polish airspace.
• Aircraft stuck in Russia – Discussion regarding leased aircraft and other foreign aircraft potentially being held in Russia.
• OPSGROUP assistance – Offer from Team to assist where possible with any operational support, information, questions – as well as #flightops or #questions in the OPSGROUP Slack channels.

Please see the full text summary and recording in the Dashboard for full details.

OPS ALERT – UUZZ/RUSSIA

A closing of Russian airspace to EU operators appears extremely likely in the coming hours.

In the last 24 hours, eight countries have denied Russian aircraft entry (UK, Poland, etc.). Each received a direct response by Russian NOTAM banning them in retaliation. Reports tonight from Germany indicate that the EU will close its airspace entirely as a block decision. Russia will respond.

Major carriers (KLM, DLH) have this evening turned aircraft around in flight to exit Russian airspace in anticipation. KLM confirms no operations into Russian airspace for at least 1 week.

Closures so far have been specific to scheduled operators but impact likely to spread. So far no closures directly targeting US operators, but avoiding Russian airspace is sensible given the uncertainty.

More on this in the Flight Ops channel

For the latest on this, head to the #Flight Ops channel on OPSGROUP Slack. We’ve just posted a copy of this alert there, and you can discuss and share updates on this specific topic with other members. The team will also post updates and further info there as we get news.

If you know more about this situation, please share an update in the channel, or email the team. Thank you!

We received this interesting question this week:

We said: “There are four airways over the Himalayas (L888, Y1, Y2, Y3) which the Chinese authorities will only let you use if you have ADS, CPDLC and satellite voice communication, and operators need to verify their equipment with them at least 60 days in advance! So they recommend that only regular scheduled flights apply to use these airways.”

Member said: “We’ve not been allowed to fly these routes, costing time between Europe and Hong Kong. I’ve been unable to get a direct answer of why not from our local Universal Aviation reps except, “the authorities won’t allow it”. Per above, there appears to be a procedure to use these airways. What is the process to gain access to these airways? Our equipment is Gulfstream with everything including the kitchen sink.”

We will start with the answer

The process to apply for access to these airways is found in AIP CHINA Section ENR 3.3.2.4 “L888, Y1, Y2”.

Excerpt from AIP CHINA published by CAAC:

12.1 A formal application shall be submitted to Air Traffic Management Bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China before air carriers operate data-link route, the application shall include:

” City pairs;
” Schedules;
” Starting time;
” Type of aircraft used;
” Satellite telephone numbers for the fleet;
” Procedure of emergent escape. (Y1, Y2 exceptive)

12.2 Flight plan notification of data-link capability is required before data-link services can be provided.

12.3 Aircraft equipped with serviceable ATS data-link equipment shall fill in ICAO flight plan forms as follows:
a. Advice of data-link capability shall be included in Field 10 (Communication and Navigation) by using an abbreviation “J”. b. Advice of available data-link media shall be included in field 18 by use of the prefix DAT/followed by one or more letters, as follows:

” DAT/S for satellited data-link,
” DAT/H for HF data-link,
” DAT/V for VHF data-link,
” DAT/M for SSR mode data-link,
” DAT/SAT for satellite phone.

12.4 Serviceable ADS equipment carried will be annotated by adding the letter D to the SSR equipment carried.

12.5 Air Carriers are required to provide a list of satellite telephone numbers with each aircraft which flying along route L888, Y1, Y2.

Now, onto the interesting stuff. The process requires submission of a “Procedure of emergent escape”.

The available alternate airports for route L888 are (according to the AIP);

• ZPPP/Kunming airport;
• ZUUU/Chengdu airport;
• ZWWW/Urumqi airport; and
• ZWSH/Kashi airport.

This is where it can get a little complicated. The handful of “air carriers” authorized to operate over these airways have type specific ‘escape’ procedures such as this example which shows a B777-300ER ‘Depressurization Terrain Considerations’ on Y1.

There is also the consideration of additional crew and passenger oxygen. The GRID MORA is over 20,000ft for several hours.

If you’re flying routes over this airspace regularly with the same aircraft, meet the onboard aircraft requirements and are willing to invest in developing type specific escape procedures, then a submission to CAAC might be in order. Even then, it’s a complicated approval process and there is always the potential requirement to carry an approved onboard navigator for travel to certain domestic airports.

Another tip we picked up was to make sure you don’t change callsigns between the submission of your application and the date you fly. Some flight plans have been getting rejected close to departure due to callsign confusion.

Some history…

As you’ll probably already know, the Silk Road or Silk Route was an ancient network of trade routes that were for centuries central to cultural interaction originally through regions of Eurasia connecting the East and West.

The concept behind the Silk Road initiative was not new. As long ago as 1997, the Australian airline QANTAS commissioned a study that crossed part of the Tibetan plateau which determined that there would be substantial benefits for their B747-400 aircraft, and that suitable depressurization escape routes were able to be determined.

As recently as 2013 ICAO was working to expand routes over this airspace:

“ICAO presented information on a possible high density routing initiative for traffic from Southeast Asia or Southern China to Europe via north of the Himalayas, taking advantage of the latest Performance-based Navigation (PBN) navigation specifications. The Silk Road initiative was a proof- of-concept ATS route study, utilising RNP 2, RNAV 2 or RNAV 5 navigation specifications, and was first presented to the Asia/Pacific Regional ATM Contingency Plan Task Force (RACP/TF) as a possible future contingency system for traffic operating on Major Traffic Flow (MTF) AR-4, in case of airspace unavailability in South Asian FIRs.”

Further Reading:

• You can view a great overview of the QANTAS approval process here.
• Airbus also had some interesting insights when they flew a test A380 over the route a few years back including commentary of their application process and hurdles.
• Lastly a great flight safety read about escape route planning and the complexities involved in it.

The summer ban on GA/BA night flights ended on Oct 1, and the airport is now available H24 again.

Throughout last year’s winter period there was a strict weekly quota on how many ad-hoc flights were allowed to operate at night, but this has been increased significantly this year, so there should be no problem getting night slots now.

The nighttime noise restrictions for EGLL/Heathrow, EGKK/Gatwick, and EGSS/Stansted are still in place, making nighttime GA/BA operations to these airports limited.

Here’s a rundown of the current restrictions:

• EGMC/Southend (40 miles from London) & EGBB/Birmingham (115 miles from London) are the only airports with no restrictions (thus far).
• EGLL/Heathrow & EGGK/Gatwick: Pretty much a no-go zone for business aviation these days
• EGLC/London City: closed from 1030pm to 0630am
• EGWU/Northolt: closed from 8pm to 8am on weekdays (although the airport is currently closed to all flights until mid-November for runway and apron refurbishments)
• EGLF/Farnborough: closed from 10pm to 7am on weekdays
• EGKB/Biggin Hill: closed from 11pm to 6.30am on weekdays, and 10pm to 8am on weekends

Further Reading:

• Luton Airport’s policy on night noise disturbance
• Owners of Luton Airport want to build a second terminal and increase passenger numbers to 32 million a year by 2039.

In Short: Strategic Lateral Offset Procedures (SLOP) costs nothing and increases flight safety. If the airspace permits it, you should be “randomly” offsetting, especially across the North Atlantic. Left is for losers – don’t SLOP left of track.

Update: August 2019 – you can now “MicroSLOP” in the NAT. Check out the changes.

We had a discussion in OpsGroup recently about SLOP (Strategic Lateral Offset Procedures) and it elicited some interesting responses, as well as some confusion.

So – Why, How and Where should you SLOP?

Why?

GPS technology allows modern jets to fly very accurately, too accurately it turns out sometimes! Aircraft can now essentially fly EXACTLY over an airway/track laterally (think less than 0.05NM), separated only by 1000FT vertically. A risk mitigation strategy was proposed over non-radar airspace to allow pilots to fly 1-2 nautical miles laterally offset from their track, randomly, to increase flight safety in case of any vertical separation breakdown.

How did we get here?

Navigation paradox

What we just described is known as the navigation paradox. The research shows that “increases in navigational precision” actually increases the collision risk – huh?

Here are some interesting stats to consider:

• In a simulation, aircraft cruising at random altitudes have five times fewer collisions.
• During a 2000 study, it was shown that hemispherical cruising altitude rules resulted in six times more mid-air collisions than random cruising altitude non compliance.
• If more randomness was applied to the hemispherical cruising level model, the navigational paradox risk could have been largely reduced and up to 30 midair collisions avoided (up to 2006). Including the tragic GOL 2006 accident.

So we get it; the rules of the air, sometimes inject risk to flight safety due to their lack of randomness.

A way to reduce risk and inject randomness?

It was 2004 when SLOP was adopted in the most congested non-radar airspace in the world, namely the North Atlantic.

Although the Navigation Paradox is the reason SLOP was introduced and continues to be implemented, there are some nice risk mitigation side-effects too: wake turbulence reduction (at times), contingency buffers if you experience severe turbulence and can’t maintain altitude (“level busts”), etc.

SLOP therefore reduces the risk between traffic which is not operating in accordance with the correct air traffic control clearance or where an error has been made in the issue of an air traffic control clearance.

Still, there is a large number (>40%) of aircraft not adopting these procedures even though they are now mandatory on the NAT.

If >40% of pilots are using SLOP 0 (meaning no offset at all), what does that matter? That means half the flights are operating over the same lateral paths and all it takes is one minor vertical deviation for there to be a significant loss of separation.

The daily NAT track message always reminds pilots to employ SLOP procedures:

FOR STRATEGIC LATERAL OFFSET AND CONTINGENCY PROCEDURES FOR OPS IN 
NAT FLOW REFER TO NAT PROGRAMME COORDINATION WEBSITE WWW.PARIS.ICAO.INT.
SLOP SHOULD BE STANDARD PROCEDURE, NOT JUST FOR AVOIDING WX/TURB.

How should you SLOP?

Consider some best practice advice:

• LEFT IS FOR LOSERS – never offset LEFT. On bi-directional routes a LEFT offset will INCREASE collision risk rather than decrease it. There are areas in the NAT Region where bi-directional traffic flows are routinely used. And there are times when opposite direction traffic may be encountered in any part of the Region. Once upon a time (between introduction of RVSM and pre-SLOP, it was ok to go LEFT, not anymore!)The only exception would be in certain airspace where ATC request you to SLOP LEFT (e.g. China).
• The system works best when every 2 out of 3 crossings you fly, you apply an offset. Shanwick says this generally means at least 1 out of 3 aircraft are slopping.
• You don’t need to ask ATC for approval; you can SLOP from the NAT entry point to the NAT exit point.
• Only offset if your FMC has the function to do so – do not do it manually.
• Good airmanship applies here. What’s happening around you? Who is above, below and near you on the same track. Co-ordinate on 123.45 if needed.
• 2nm RIGHT is the maximum approved SLOP.
• Flip a coin to decide like some do! Captain is PF? 1R going west; First Officer 2R going east etc. Studies show that on the NAT, 40% do 1R and only 20% go 2R. Don’t be afraid to go the full 2R!
• If you are overtaking someone, the ICAO guidance in NAT DOC 007 is to apply SLOP so as to create the “least amount of wake turbulence for the aircraft being overtaken”.

Where though?

Our friend Eddie at Code 7700 gave a great comprehensive list so here it is verbatim.

• Africa, almost all remote locations employ SLOP. Check the Jeppesen Airways Manual / Air Traffic Control / State Rules and Procedures – Africa) to be sure. Rule of thumb: if you are in radar contact, you probably should not SLOP.
  • One notable exception where they don’t want you to SLOP is in the HKNA/Nairobi FIR. The AIP states: “SLOP is not applicable in the Nairobi FIR due to efficient surveillance and communication systems.” (We do remind you however that recently in the Nairobi FIR, a 767 and 737, both at FL370 came a little too close for comfort).
• Australia is another special case. You may only offset in the OCA, and, if you’re still on radar, then you need to tell ATC, both when starting the offset, or changing it. Within domestic CTA airspace, you must fly centerline. (According to Australian guidance in Jeppesen Pages).
• China, on routes A1, L642, M771, and N892 (according to China guidance in Jeppesen Pages). In some areas they employ their unique SLOP offsets, but do allow the standard 1 nm and 2 nm offsets.
• New York, Oakland and Anchorage Oceanic FIRs (according to U.S. FAA guidance).
• Oceanic airspace in the San Juan FIR (according to U.S. FAA guidance).
• North Atlantic Track Region: SLOP is mandatory (according to the North Atlantic Operations and Airspace Manual).
• The Pacific (including the NOPAC, Central East Pacific (CEP) and Pacific Organized Track System (PACOTS) (according to U.S. FAA guidance).
• South Pacific airspaces (according to U.S. FAA guidance).

FAQ:

• Should I SLOP crossing the Atlantic even if I’m on a random route or above the published NAT FL’s?

Yes! You should especially do it then. There is a higher chance of opposite direction traffic. That extra mile or two (randomly selected of course) could be a life saver!

• What about micro-slop?

That is lateral offsets between 0 and 1 nm (0.1 etc). ICAO mentions “LOP provisions as specified in ICAO PANS-ATM Doc.4444 were amended 13 November 2014 to include the use of “micro-offsets” of 0.1 Nms for those aircraft with this FMS capability. Appropriate guidance for the use of this amended procedure in the North Atlantic is under study and hence pending.”

And now, since August 2019, this is beginning to be approved for operations on the NAT. Read the update!

We might have missed something or maybe we didn’t cover your specific question?

Drop us a line and will do our best to answer.

Bottom line, SLOP costs nothing but increases flight safety.

On Feb 23, the Norwegian B737 which had been stuck in Iran for two months after an in-flight diversion finally departed OISS/Shiraz, and landed back at Stockholm’s ESSA/Arlanda airport.

The brand new Norwegian Boeing 737 MAX8 was flying from Dubai to Oslo on Dec 14 when it encountered engine problems that necessitated a diversion to Shiraz.

With the U.S. sanctions currently in place against Iran, it made it very difficult to obtain approval to get the required spare parts over to Iran to fix the aircraft – Norwegian were only able to do so after negotiating a workaround with the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control.

The real complication here came from the fact that the aircraft needed a replacement LEAP-1B engine. The engine is a 50/50 ownership split between GE (USA) & Safran (France). The U.S. export restrictions apply to any company that wants to sell or resell goods to Iran that contain more than 10 percent aviation parts or technology from the United States.

In the end, the aircraft was out of service for over two months, no doubt costing the airline a fortune in lost revenue. It’s unclear who will be picking up the bill for “extra” complications of getting the permits with Iran, but that will be a costly exercise also.

The lesson?

Consider your overflight diversion options. If a checklist calls for a diversion to the nearest suitable airport and that airport is in a country with limited diversion support or (in this case) complicated requirements for sourcing replacement parts – is it worth the risk?

Have you operated to anywhere in Iran recently? Let us know how it went!

Further reading

• US issues new guidance on Iran overflight risk
• London to Dubai – which way is best?

What the expanded airport should have looked like in 2018.

For 10 years SPJC/Lima’s Jorge Chavez airport has been desperately waiting for a promised US$1.5bn expansion.

With the rapid growth in the airline industry in Peru over the past few years, it seems the airport authorities are starting to struggle to provide enough capacity, and they are now trying to make it as difficult as possible for anything other than the commercial airlines to operate there!

In AIC (10/18), which has been in effect since Aug 2018, the airport has said that no more technical stops will be permitted at the airport. It also outlines significant slot/time restrictions for GA/BA operations.

Why they are doing it?

According to the AIC:

“In order to optimize the use of airport resources, ensure the safe provision of air traffic services and ensure the balance between demand and available capacity, the DGAC has been implementing capacity management measures.”

You can find the full information here but we have listed the main operational details below.

• Tech stops are “forbidden” for “commercial flights and general, national and international aviation” effective 15 August 18.
• Maximum stay of 2 hours on the civil apron for GA/BA flights. This is counted “from the time of placing chocks.” After two hours, the aircraft must be transferred to another apron, parking area for aircraft or hangar, or must go to a suitable alternate airport. The recommended airport to re-position to is SPSO/Pisco. It has an ILS and a 9900’/3000m runway. It is 115nm away, and open H24.
• General aviation flights are limited to two operating periods every day. “Flights must perform their take-off and landing” between 0000L-0430L (0500UTC-0930UTC) or 1300L-1859L [1800UTC-2359UTC ]. The 2-hour maximum ground time still applies, and coordination of ground services should be pre-planned in advance to comply.

For non-scheduled flights, they’ve issued a NOTAM restricting all ops to between 1100-2000L (1600-0100Z) or 2300-0800L  (0400-1300Z):

A1822/19 – IN ORDER TO REDUCE TFC CONGESTION, NON-SCHEDULE FLIGHTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ARRIVE IN SPJC DURING THIS BLOCK OF TIME. STS EMER,SAR,HUM,HOSP,MEDEVAC AND STATE ARE EXCLUDED. DLY BTN 0100-0400 AND 1300-1600, 04 APR 01:00 2019 UNTIL 31 JUL 16:00 2019 ESTIMATED. CREATED: 03 APR 23:28 2019

The authorities seem intent on enforcing these rules. One local handler has told us – “The Peruvian FAA is being very strict with the AIC. They are rejecting landing permit requests for fuel stops at SPJC.”

If you have any further knowledge or recent experience to share, please let us know!

Extra Reading:

• Peru’s Biggest Airport Continues Waiting for Long Overdue Expansion
• Lima airport expansion faces further delays
• CORPAC SA (AIP etc)

In Short: The switch from LTBA/Istanbul Ataturk to LTFM/Istanbul New Airport has effectively been postponed until sometime in early March 2019 – although no official date has been given yet. LTFM “officially” opened on 29 Oct 2018, but since then it’s only been available to Turkish Airlines – everyone else has to carry on using LTBA.

Istanbul’s new mega-airport, which has been plagued by construction issues and delays, officially launched operations on 29 October 2018, to coincide with Turkish National Day celebrations – even though it wasn’t completely ready in time.

Authorities initially said that all scheduled airline and charter flights would have to switch over from using LTBA/Istanbul Ataturk to LTFM/Istanbul New Airport on 29 October 2018. Then they published AIC 07/18 which pushed that date back to 30 December 2018. And then, in the week before that was due to happen, they published this Notam:

A7542/18
A PHASED TRANSFER FROM ISTANBUL ATATURK AIRPORT (LTBA) TO ISTANBUL AIRPORT (LTFM) WILL TAKE PLACE. ISTANBUL AIRPORT (LTFM) WILL ONLY BE USED FOR PRE-AUTHORIZED TURKISH AIRLINES FLIGHTS, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. 24 DEC 13:35 2018 UNTIL PERM. CREATED: 24 DEC 13:37 2018

So for now, only Turkish Airlines are allowed to operate to LTFM. Local reports suggest that it won’t be until March 2019 before all the other airlines and charter operators can start using it too. When that happens, LTBA/Istanbul Atatürk will be closed to all scheduled airline and charter flights, but will remain open for general aviation and business flights.

So that’s good news for GA/BA! There’s nothing to say that you can’t use the new airport, but it’s quite a way out of town (39km/24 miles) when compared to the old one.

Into the future there is talk about the old airport becoming a park, but there are still no firm plans for that yet, according to the FBO reps we spoke to on the ground.

Do you know more? Let us know!

New ICAO requirements on aircraft tracking came into force on Nov 8. Large aircraft (over MTOW 45,500kg and with more than 19 seats) must now track their position every 15 minutes – down from the previously required 60 minutes. The tracking needs to take place in all regions where the local ATS gets position information at greater than 15 minute intervals. If you want to get into it, you can find it in ICAO SARPS, Annex 6,  Part I,  Section 3.5.

This requirement is part of ICAO’s “Global Tracking Initiative”, which came about shortly after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in March 2014.

When to track?

If your aircraft is outside range of radar, oceanic waters, remote areas, (anywhere that the ATS doesn’t get a position report in less than 15 minute intervals) you can count on needing to obtain and record your own position reports every 15 minutes (or less).

Where are these areas? ICAO is keeping a database to show where you’re going to need to make your own 15 minute records (it’s not the best tool at the moment):

click to open tool on ICAO site

How to track?

The important part of this: it must all be done automatically. You can’t just set a timer and manually record a position report. ICAO doesn’t have a preferred method for this, just as long as it’s automatic (use your ADS-B, GPS tracker, or a tracking service). It was important that ICAO keep this particular requirement in line with equipment and capabilities currently available.

Who’s watching?

ICAO has told us that although the new requirement is now in place, currently there is no requirement to share the data – unless it’s required for an incident.

Also, it is still yet to be seen if/how specific authorities will add this requirement into AIPs. For example, Canada has stated the below, but have yet to add any requirement into the Canadian Aviation Regulations:

Canadian air operators are reminded that they are subject to the laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions and their respective civil aviation authorities (CAA) when abroad. Effective November 8, 2018, they may be subject to regulatory action by a CAA if they do not comply with ICAO GADSS SARPs requirements. CASA 09-2018

Will this be part of SAFA ramp checks?

No. We asked SAFA this very question, and here’s what they told us:

“For the time being we do not have any intention to request of ramp inspectors to perform an inspection of this new requirement.”

The future?

In January 2021, there will be a further requirement to tracking, called “Autonomous Distress Tracking”, which will require automatic position reports every minute when in a distress situation. This requirement will likely depend on new equipment, or depend on expansion of Space Based ADS-B.

ICAO is also populating a “Global Operational Directory” to help communication between OCCs and ANSPs. It’s not operational yet, but this will help when ANSPs and OCCs need to communicate. It’s free to participate, as long as OCCs share their information. More information for that is here.

For more reading of all the ICAO updates on Global Tracking Initiatives, head here.

The 2018 G20 Leaders meeting will be held in Buenos Aires on November 30 and December 1, 2018. GA/BA flights will be prohibited from operating to both SAEZ/Ministro Pistarini and SABE/Jorge Newbery – but also all the smaller airport across the city as well.

AIP SUP A28/2018 goes into all of the restrictions in detail, but here are the key takeaways.

The airports…

Between 1500L on Nov 29 to 2200L on Dec 1 (1800Z Nov 29 to 0100Z Dec 2), here are the restrictions:

• SABE/Jorge Newbery – will be totally closed to all non-G20 aircraft.
• SAEZ/Ministro Pistarini – will only accept regular airline flights. All GA/BA flights are prohibited. RWY 17/35 will be closed and used as a taxiway and for parking only. Many SID and STARS will be suspended and a full list is in Appendix 2 of the SUP. (UPDATE 22NOV: Notam A9669/18 has now been published which brings forward the start time for the ban at this airport to midnight local time on Nov 26).
• SADP/El Palomar – closed to civil ops, although 8 slots will be made available to airlines from 1800Z-2300Z on Nov 29.
• SADF/San Fernando, SADJ/Mariano Moreno, SADM/Morón – all closed to civil ops.

So with all the Buenos Aires airports out of action for GA/BA over these dates, there aren’t a lot of other options. The closest international airports are: SAAR/Rosario to the north, SAZS/Plata Del Mar to the south, or SUMU/Montevideo – but that’s in a different country!

Bottom line – if you’re GA/BA and you need to get to Buenos Aires at the end of the month, you’ll need to make sure you go there before the G20 restrictions come into force on 1800z on Nov 29.

The airspace…

SAEF/Ezeiza FIR will see the following restrictions in place between those same timings, 1800z Nov 29 – 0100z Dec 2:

• All users must submit a flight plan a minimum of 6 hours before estimated off blocks time.
• All aircraft must operate on discreet transponder codes at all times.
• An ADIZ is in place out to 250NM from EZE VOR from SFC-UNL within the FIR.
• There will be 3 temporary restricted areas in place, BAIRES, SPY GLASS and ROJO.
• The BAIRES airspace overlays on top of SAEZ/Ministro Pistarini  out to 55nm.
• Expect Air Force fast jets to be patrolling and operating with ‘due regard‘ overhead during various times.

Did we miss something? Get in touch!

Just a short update on a few things happening in Canada that you might have missed…

Nationwide

• There has been a change in the Maximum Indicated Airspeeds for holding patterns to bring them more in line with the rest of the world. This came into effect on 11OCT18 and will be reflected in the 08NOV18 AIP update. Refer AIC 25/18.

• It’s been over a year and a half since NavCanada suspended it’s Climb/Descend via SID phraseology, adding a complication for pilots that regularly cross the border from USA to Canada and v.v. It initially trialed then quickly suspended them “out of concern over altitude deviations we were seeing in the system and the unforeseen large increase in workload as a result. We are continuing to communicate with airlines, aircraft operators and our employees as we revert to the phraseology rules that were in place prior to this change.​” We understand this phraseology has now been officially put in the trash and wont be returning.

CYYZ/Toronto Pearson Airport

• There are new nighttime RNAV approaches starting in CYYZ/Toronto Pearson from 08NOV18. These RNAV (GNSS) X instrument approach procedures are for night-time ops between 0030L-0630L on runways 5/6L/6R/23/24L/24R. The procedures are designed to minimize the noise footprint. The ATIS will advertise these as the primary approach type when they are active. Pilots can expect to be cleared directly to the initial approach waypoint, then subsequently cleared for the approach including the appropriate transition. Refer AIC 28/18.

• Slots are currently required for all flights between 0030-0630 local time. The airport authority was planning to make slots mandatory for all GA/BA flights H24 from Nov 17 onwards, but this will now be delayed to some time in early 2019. For more info, contact the Airport Reservation Office at aro@gtaa.com

Do you know more? Drop us a line!

The 2018 APEC meeting will be held in AYPY/Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 15 and 16 November, 2018. If you’re trying to get there, here’s what you need to know…

What’s happening at the airport?

• Parking – There may not even be enough space for all the official delegations’ aircraft, let alone anyone else, so expect parking congestion also at YBCS/Cairns and YBTL/Townsville airports. YBTL will also be used as a base by Australian military aircraft tasked with assisting the airspace security during the event; if you are heading there, make sure you read and carry the AIP SUP H99/18.
• Night closures – Closures of the main runway (14L/32R) mean that the airport is effectively closed each night from 2100-0430 local time until 13 November.
• Customs – if you’re actually going to AYPY during this period, you can view the APEC Customs handbook here.
• Flight Plans – If you indicate the wrong ADS-B FLT ID (in Section 7 of your FPL) and are inbound or outbound to AYPY/Port Moresby or AYNZ/Lae Nadzab you can expect a 20 minute delay or holding (A1069/18 refers).

What’s happening in the airspace?

AIP SUPP 5/2018 outlines the airspace restrictions for APEC2018. Here are the important bits, all effective from Nov 2-20:

• Watch out for overflights of AYPY, as there’s a 90 NM ADIZ in place around the airport from SFC-FL600.
• There is a temporary restricted area (TRA931) 30 NM around AYPY, SFC-FL330. Anyone flying to/from AYPY with a valid flight plan and talking to ATC can enter this area.
• There is another more restrictive area (TRA930) over the CBD and event venue. Only APEC aircraft can enter this area.
• Actual activation times will be notified by NOTAM.
• Expect Royal Australia Air Force FA18 fast jets to be patrolling and operating with ‘due regard‘ overhead during various times

A real life report…

Here’s a report from an Opsgroup member trying to operate to AYPY/Port Moresby for the APEC summit:

- The closest parking spot we could get for a G650 is YPDN/Darwin. We were denied parking in YBCS/Cairns; we were told parking is reserved for head of states only. YBTL/Townsville denied us parking too, on the basis of no space available.

- The handler at AYPY/Port Moresby is not very responsive at the best of times, and has been unreliable also in the past, even when no special event was going on. In the past we once even got handling confirmed for an arrival during a scheduled runway closure!

- Until Nov 30, crew/pax visas cannot be arranged upon arrival, to enhance security during the APEC event. Instead, visa requests must be made through embassies during this time. This is normally not a problem outside of special events. The PNG Embassy in London have been very quick in getting visas approved for our crew, with a maximum turn of 5 working days, and as short as 3 working days.

Some other Supplementary information if you are operating to AYPY/Port Moresby:

• High terrain in close proximity.
• Navaids not monitored by ATC. Standby power reported to be available. Jackson and Parer locaters no longer in operational use. Disregard any procedures that use these aids.
• Navaids may not be accurate or serviceable. Review all available information prior to use and perform appropriate crosschecks to verify navaid integrity.
• ATC may give inappropriate radar vectors and ALT instructions. During radar outage, ATC will provide procedural control. Maintain situation awareness to ensure safety not
  compromised. Refer to Radar Terrain Clearance Chart to cross-check altitudes.
• RWY 14L has upslope for 3/4 of its length, then slopes downward to the RWY 32R threshold, giving the illusion that the runway is shorter than actual.
• In gusty winds, expect windshear on approach RWY 14L.
• T-VASIS may be unserviceable without prior warning.
• Engine start clearance not required unless notified on ATIS.
• POB should be given with pushback request.
• Airway B220 is a designated two-way airway. Beware potential late-notice opposite direction traffic given close proximity to FIR boundary.
• Short-notice deterioration of ATC services may occur. If ATC not available, revert to CTAF on tower frequency.

Did we miss something? Let us know!

It’s going to be mostly sunny and warm (78F, 26C) this week in Bermuda if you’re heading that way – but you should also know they are going to be full non-radar – so plan ahead.

We put together what you need to know.

Firstly, the Bermuda Secondary Surveillance Radar will be out of service for 7 days starting this coming Monday, 29 October, at 1100z (0800L). The NOTAM says it will be back to normal the following Monday, 5 November, at 1700z (1400L).

The following non-radar procedures are in effect (NOTAM – A0404/18 and A0154/18)

• If you are landing at TXKF/Bermuda you should flight plan and expect FL310 or below at the NY Oceanic CTA/FIR boundary. 
• Expect possible flow restrictions due to traffic volume and/or during adverse weather.
• Carry fuel to cover “minimum” of 15 minute arrival/departure delay.
• All aircraft must file via MOMON 1 or POPOP 1 RNAV STAR however there are restrictions on which transitions can be used:
  • MOMON 1 – Only DASER, ANVER and RNGRS transitions allowed
  • POPOP 1 – Only BALTN and JIMAC transitions allowed
• Departing aircraft must file via either the BORNN 1 or SOMRR 1 RNAV SIDs.
• If you are NON-RNAV then you must flight plan to DASER, ANVER, RNGRS, BALTN, or JIMAC (180 nm ARC BDA VOR) then the respective airway to BDA VOR.

A0152/18 – AERODROME INTERMITTENT PERIODS  OF HIGH BIRD ACT OF KILL DEERS AND PLOVERS DUE TO SEASONAL MIGRATORY
PATTERNS: THE MIGRATORY SEASON BEGINS IN EARLY OCT AND RUNS THRU  EARLY APRIL WITH BIRD ACT AT ITS HIGHEST APRX BTN HR OF 1000 – 2130.  EXERCISE CTN WHEN FLY DRG THESE TIMES.

“Beware all pilots traveling to Abidjan, Customs is waiting for you!”

That is the message we received in a disconcerting report this week from one of our long-time members which certainly troubled us here at OpsGroup. We thought it was important to share.

The pilot told us that he and his business jet were recently “held hostage” by airport custom officials in the port city of DIAP/Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa.

The crew had all the appropriate landing and overflight permits as required. GenDec’s, passports and associated documents were also in order. Therefore, all the evidence points to a good old fashioned shakedown and a convoluted scheme setup between local Customs agents and certain ground handlers to extort bribes from foreign crew.

The report we received explains how the crew were ramp checked by Customs officials after landing. The aircraft documents were confiscated and the Captain was “interrogated until 1am” the following morning.

The officials claimed that the pilot both failed to declare their arrival, as well as the “aircraft contents, passengers and baggage.”

The fine was CFA 6,900,000,000 (yes billion!) francs, which equates to USD $12,066,720 (yes, million!)

Ay Caramba!

The offence was purported to be importing a high value item (aircraft) without customs approval. The high fine figure was “based on the insurance value of the aircraft.”

The crew were held hostage in the country for 10 days until senior Customs officials could finally agree on the appropriate “accusation” and that the associated fine was actually “legal”.

After the 10 days, the crew were able to negotiate a deal and depart safely – although not without having to involve the aircraft’s insurance underwriter, who paid a ‘substantial amount’ for the aircraft to be allowed to depart.

On reflection, the crew noted that if Customs does meet your aircraft without you arranging it in advance, “you can be sure you are about to be trapped.” They do not tell you why they are looking for documents, more specifically, your aircraft documents, and will not tell you anything as they walk away to call their seniors, carrying your documents with them.

So in short: do not let go of your documents!

The advice from our member:

• Contact the handling agent first hand and double check that they are an approved, recognized handler and have approval from the various authorities (immigration, customs, police, anti-drug) to operate airside. Also check that they can arrange for you to get to the Customs and Immigration officers landside. Do not assume because the handler takes all your documents and gives you an invoice and receipts that the authorities have been advised of your arrival and situation.
• The Abidjan Customs authority does not recognize a GenDec as an approved form of advice about passengers, health and cargo. They will also not sign off on the submitted GenDec. They will not come to your aircraft unless you specifically arrange for them to do so.

It’s important to stress that we are not talking about a small African airstrip in the back lots. This is a large international gateway with many major international airlines serving the city. Over 4 million people live here and it’s the economic capital of the Ivory Coast.  But corruption is endemic, it spills over every sector of the public administration; clearly even into Customs!

As Brookings put it, “for the inspector, the temptation is large because his salary is relatively small compared to the potential bribe.” It still doesn’t make it right and this experience serves a timely warning for all crew operating through the airport.

Have you been subjected to similar behavior when passing through DIAP/Abidjan? Let us know.

Extra Reading

• Cote d’Ivoire Travel Advisory
• Understanding the Roots of Corruption in Cote d’Ivoire
• Why there is (petty) corruption in Ivory Coast

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh recently published circular 02/2018 which outlines a $195 USD overflight permit fee for non-scheduled foreign aircraft transiting the VGFR/Dhaka FIR . The fee is certainly on the high side but the disappointing part is :

“The payment is non-refundable, irrespective of the approval or rejection to the permit request.”

Say what?

There was a similar type of no-refund situation within the TNCF/Curaco FIR but we now understand after some noise, operators are getting refunds as per normal industry practice.

We say it’s time for the CAA in Bangladesh to stop this non-refundable nonsense.

Have you had a permit denied and not received your money back? Reach out and Let us know!

The United States is rolling out En Route FANS CPDLC during 2018-19, for all equipped, trained and permitted operators. The FAA’s Advisory Circular AC 90-117 outlines the requirements for U.S. operators.

Trials have begun with KZID/Indianapolis going live with 24/7 ops starting last week.

We also understand that KZME/Memphis and KZKC/Kansas City are still in the testing phase with CPDLC and voice read back happening 1-2 nights per week during the midnight shift.

The current deployment schedule as it stands can be found in this graphic. [if you know what DFV means, let us know!]

How to participate:

• The FANS logon is “KUSA” for the entire country and you may logon at any time. The CPDLC connection will become active after departure, and the crew is notified via a welcome message uplink. If En Route FANS CPDLC enabled airspace is active, you will stay logged on. If the aircraft transitions from En Route FANS CPDLC enabled airspace into non-Data Link airspace with an active CPDLC connection then the connection will terminate approximately seven minutes after exiting.
• To participate, file “DAT/FANSE” in Field 18 of the ICAO Flight Plan.
• Equipment required is VDL Mode 2, indicated as “J4” in Field 10a of the ICAO Flight Plan.
• If an operator wants to use domestic En Route FANS CPDLC and is already using FANS DCL then the the majority of operations will fall into one of these scenarios:
  • (1) The operator uses FANS DCL via the “DAT/1FANS2PDC” preference in Field 18 of the ICAO Flight Plan. In that case, update the preference to “DAT/1FANSE2PDC“.
  • (2) The operator uses FANS DCL via the FAA’s Subscriber Database. In that case, the operator will want to add the entry “DAT/FANSE” in Field 18 of the Flight Plan.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Domestic En Route FANS CPDLC enabled airspace will be seamlessly integrated with foreign (Canadian) and Oceanic FANS CPDLC enabled airspace.
• The Oceanic Clearance will not be delivered via FANS CPDLC. You will still need to request the clearance via AFIS/ACARS or obtain it via voice.

Have you had the chance to try it out recently? Let us know!

Extra Reading:

• Rockwell Collins
• FAA Advisory Circular AC 90-117

We reported a few months back that the Airport Authority (AAHK) and the Hong Kong Schedule Coordination Office (HKSCO) have decided to trial an increase in slot availability from 4 to 6 total slots each night. It looks like the trial is being extended until March 2019.

The published details:

Notice on night slot availability (trial from 8 August 2018 until 31 March 2019)

1. The number of slots available for GA/BA operations between 0000 to 0500 local time (16-21 UTC) will increase from 4 slots daily to 6 slots daily.
2. The application procedure for these 6 slots will be the same as that for the 4 daily slots currently available.
3. The above are provided on a trial and temporary basis and are subject to continuous review jointly by AAHK and HKSCO.
4. Also important to note, as pointed out to us by our friends at the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) – these 6 slots will be made available to all aircraft types, not just the ones currently exempted from the noise abatement regulations. This means that BBJ’s/ACJ’s/Lineage 1000/Globals/G650ER etc can now operate in and out of Hong Kong at night-time, subject to slot availability.

In Short: The performance-based communication and surveillance (PBCS) framework allows for higher safety standards and more efficient airspace use. If your aircraft already has the equipment and you cross the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans often, it’s worth looking into getting your regulatory approval.

PB… what? It’s a good question. We have so many acronyms in aviation, it’s easy to forget what this one stands for and what it really means. So, let’s try and get to the bottom of it.

What is PBCS?

Official answer:

The ICAO performance-based communication and surveillance (PBCS) framework ensures that emerging technologies for communication and surveillance fully support ATM operations and are implemented and operated safely.

In plain speak:

With the technology already available on many aircraft and in the Air Traffic Control facility, aircraft can now fly closer than ever before, especially over non-radar oceanic airspace.

There are two key buzz words, so let’s define them. They are interlinked with RNP – Required Navigation Performance.

• RSP – Required Surveillance Officially known as “surveillance data delivery”, often stipulated in the Airplane Flight Manual. Basically, how often does the aircraft send its position to ATC/ground station. There are two specifications, RSP180 and RSP400. The numbers indicate the maximum number of seconds (180 or 400) for the transaction to occur.
• RCP – Required Communication ICAO has two specifications, RCP240 and RCP400. Again, the numbers indicate the maximum number of seconds (240 or 400), or “transaction time” taken for the controller to issue an instruction to the crew and for them to receive a response. This could be via CPDLC, HFDL, VDL or SATCOM.

So, we have a loop here, C-N-S. Communication, Navigation and Surveillance. An aircraft sends surveillance information to ATC about where it is; the aircraft stays within confines of RNP navigation requirements and ATC communicates with the aircraft within the required transaction times.  Pretty easy!

But why do we need PBCS?

The take away? If all given aircraft in a certain airspace have a lower RSP value and a lower RCP value, we can start putting these aircraft closer together.

Essentially – performance-based separation minima. This allows aircraft to be separated safely according to technological capability rather than “one-size-fits-all” prescriptive distances.

What are the differences from PBN?

They are similar but there are notable differences. In a simple sense, the PBN (RNP/RNAV) only requires that the operator obtains approval because it focuses on how the equipment works. PBCS (RSP/RCP) however requires the involvement and approval of the air traffic service provider because it’s a two-way communication and surveillance effort. There are dependencies and complexity with the equipment standards on both ends.

In this graphic you can see a high-level summary of who is responsible for what:

Where is it in place?

Currently PBCS is in effect in one form or another in the following FIR’s

• NZZC/Auckland Oceanic
• NFFF/Nadi
• KZAK/Oakland Oceanic
• PAZN/Anchorage Oceanic
• WSJC/Singapore
• VCCF/Sri Lanka
• NTTT/Tahiti
• RJJJ/ Fukuoka
• KZNY/New York Oceanic
• CZQX/Gander
• EGGX/Shanwick
• BIRD/ Reykjavik
• LPPO/Santa Maria Oceanic

The Air Traffic Service providers of China, Brazil and Indonesia have also shown interest to introduce PBCS in the future.

Specifically, PBCS is being used between FL350 and 390 on certain “half” NAT tracks as we have written about before.

What do I need to do?

Requirements vary from state-to-state on the exact procedure for obtaining approval. It’s important to note that not all aircraft are automatically PBCS ready (refer to your aircraft manufacturer and your airplane flight manual).

The FAA has outlined its approval process here and has a handy powerpoint document here.

An important element is to prove that you have signed the “PBCS Global Charter” which can be found at the FANS Central Reporting Agency (CRA) website.

When a PBCS authorization is obtained an operator is required to file both P2 (indicating RCP240) in item 10 and SUR/RSP180 in item 18 of the flight plan, in addition to the J codes for CPDLC and D1 or G1 for ADS-C in item 10.

The correct filing of these two codes will indicate to any ATM ground systems applying performance-based separation minima that the aircraft is eligible for these minima and that the crew have received the relevant training in order to safely operate using the reduced separations.

Will you notice that PBCS standards are being applied to your flight?

Ok this is the funny part of this story. The short answer, probably not.

While it may be easier for RCP240/RSP180 approved aircraft to obtain optimal flight profiles, especially during high traffic periods, and particularly for NAT flights using the OTS, the application of these standards is generally tactical in nature for ATC. An aircraft may not have performance-based separation applied at all on an individual flight, or possibly may never have had it applied to any of its flights. Even if a you have RCP240/RSP180 approvals, if the aircraft nearby does not also have the approvals, the separation standards cannot be applied!

What if I don’t have RCP240 and RSP180 approval?

If you do not have RCP240/RSP180 approvals you will always have the larger separations, e.g. 10-min, applied, and not be eligible for the lower standards in cases where it may be beneficial.

The only airspace that has implemented tracks that will require PBCS to file is in the NAT OTS. There are still non-PBCS tracks in the OTS for which PBCS approvals are not required.

All other airspace in which performance-based separation minima are currently applied will allow aircraft with and without RCP240 and RSP180 approvals to enter and use the airspace in a mixed-mode operation.

Will I be penalized if I don’t have it?

Probably not in the short term. In the future as more and more airspace corridors become PBCS only, then it is possible you may be subject to reroutes, delays or the requirement to fly outside of certain flight levels.

So, our conclusion?

PBCS is a great step forward in maximizing efficiency in a busier airspace environment thanks to the advent of better technology. If you fly the NATs often and have an aircraft capable of PBCS certification standards, then yes – do it! The approval process is not overly burdensome, and many modern transatlantic jets already meet most of the technical requirements.

Ultimately, reduced separation standards mean more great air-to-air views. So, pack your camera!

You were in a 4G inverted dive with a Mig 28? -Yes, ma’am. -At what range? -Um, about two meters. -Eh, lieutenant, what were you doing there? -Communicating. Keeping up foreign relations.

Did we miss something, or does something need more explaining? Let us know!

Extra Reading:

• The latest Nat Doc 007 North Atlantic Operations and Airspace Manual
• FAA-Performance-based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS) Monitoring
• FAA-PBCS FAQ
• FAA-PBCS: Operator Approvals
• FAA-Performance-based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS) Approvals and Monitoring
• FAA-PBCS Manual Doc 9869 Review
• ICAO-Operational Authorization Guide
• ICAO-PBS Overview
• NBAA -Revised Authorization Required for Performance-Based Comm, Surveillance Operations
• New Zealand -Performance Based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS) Implementation Plan