Monday Briefing: Libya FIR, South America RNP5

Libya FIR: No quick change Sep 17th: NATO confirmed this week that despite the recent events on the ground in Libya, there will be no immediate change to the current arrangements in the Libya FIR. In discussions with NATO’s Strategic Operations Center, we have been advised that the No Fly Zone (NFZ) remains in place and commercial operations into Libya are exceptionally limited. As the situation permits, more diplomatic and economic related flights may be added to the existing list of approved Humanitarian Flights.

South America – RNP 5 airways Sep 17th: On October 20th, a number of South American countries will implement RNP5 routes across their airspace. A number of new procedures and requirements are introduced, and national AIC’s should be consulted for the most relevant information. Among others, Chile will introduce RNP5 in Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt,and Punta Arenas FIRs, and Colombia will do the same in Bogota and Barranquilla FIRs.

US Restrictions

MDW/Midway RWY 31C/13C CLOSED UNTIL 9/19
LGA/La Guardia RWY 4/22 CLOSED 17/04Z-18/00Z
IAH/Houston RWY 8R GS OTS
BOS/Boston RWY 15R/33L CLSD UNTIL 11/30
CLT/Charlotte RWY 18C/36C CLSD UNTIL 11/15
DEN/Denver RWY 8/26 CLSD UNTIL 10/12

NEW YORK area on September 19-21 2011, due to the United Nations General Assembly. NOTAM 1/0652 covers the restrictions to the New York City area.
GA operations are prohibited at the following airports during the specified times.
LGA from 1645 local (2045z) on September 19, 2011 until 2200 local (22/0200z) on September 21, 2011.
JFK from 1630 local (2030z) until 1730 local (2130z) on September 19, 2011.

SAEF/Ezeiza Radar, Argentina The Ezeiza Control Area has been divided into two sectors – North and South, with associated new frequencies and procedures.

SCxx/Chile FIRs Introduction of RNAV 5 routes on October 20th will occur in Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Punta Arenas FIRs. Aircraft unable to meet the specidfication, put RMK/NONRNAV5 in Field 18 of the ATC plan, and use phraseology “Negative RNAV”. For enroute failure: “Unable RNAV due equipment”. Chile also recognises these exemption/special treatment codes: STATE, HUM, SAR, MAINT, DELIVERY as RMK/’s.

SKxx/Colombia FIRs RNAV 5 routes also being introduced in Colombia – SKED and SKEC FIR’s on Oct 20th.

EPWA/Warsaw, Poland WIP until Sept 26th causing delays, Rway 15/33 closed intermittently, see Notams.

LGGG/Athens FIR, Greece Major weekend disruption continues due to ATC staffing issues. Delays running as high as three – four hours at peak.

LTAA/Ankara FIR, Turkey LTAI, LTFY, LTBA all subject to moderate delays this weekend and coming week due to ATC arrival regulation.

OBBB/Bahrain FIR New list of required routings within the Bahrain FIR published in AIP Supp 07/11

NZZO/Auckland Oceanic FIR Met Data – change to procedure. Put simply, if you make a report on HF, no need to send a met report. If you are doing it via CPDLC, send it (at designated MET reporting points).

NZNS/Nelson, New Zealand Aircraft parking space is very limited and must be requested at least 2 days in advance from the NAL airport company. Tel +64 3 547 3199 or email office@nelsonairport.co.nz. Auckland (NZAA) has a similar situation due to the Rugby World Cup – GA/Business Aviation operations must be planned will in advance and may not be approved for peak times or days until end Oct 2011.

YPPH/Perth, Australia Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting 28-30 Oct 2011. Major event affecting all airspace SFC-FL600 and ops within 90nm of Perth Airport. Special ADIZ activated 26-31 Oct. Pay close attention to Notams closer to activity date.

OPKR/ Karachi FIR, Pakistan Radar services not avail within 200nm of Karachi Sept 20th (0430-0530) due to maint. Procedural control in effect.

UHMA/Anadyr, Russia ILS Rwy 19 is withdrawn from service until 18 Oct, to repair lighting on Rwy 01. Available with 1 hour Prior Notice.

VOxx/India Various changes to airspace structure in India occured in early August, affecting Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai FIRs. Multiple boundary and entry point changes.

ZYSH/Shenyang ACC, China WGS-84 has been implemented in the Guanzhou FIR, Wuhan FIR and Sanya FIRs. A new enroute chart was published on August 15th. See AisChina.com for more details.

EGCC/Manchester, UK Recent reports of false LOC captures onto Rwy23R when approaching from the North and South, caution.

LFMN/Nice, France Operating at reduced capacity due to closure of Runway 04L/22R until 24 Sept. Tactical regulation anticipated with occasional arrival delays at peak times.
Central America – COCESNA, the centralised ATC agency for Central America, which incorporates the states of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, has revised the structure of its Navigation fees; heavy category aircraft are now 77T and above, and will pay 0.60 USD per nm flown. A CENAMER Notification should be made prior to airspace entry.

Caribbean CARICOM API Trinidad and Tobago have issued a reminder that Advance Passenger Information (API) data must be sent in a timely fashion by aircraft operators. Advance Passenger Information (API) is data provided to the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) in Barbados prior to the arrival and departure of an aircraft or vessel at each port of entry in participating Member States. The participating states in CARICOM are: 1. Antigua and Barbuda, 2. Barbados, 3. Dominica, 4. Grenada, 5. Guyana, 6. Jamaica, 7. St. Kitts and Nevis, 8. St. Lucia, 9. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 10. Trinidad and Tobago. Commercial Air Carriers are expected to transmit the data 15 minutes after departure. Private aircraft should transmit the data 30 minutes before departure.

El Salvador (MSLP) ‘Regional Flights’ are no longer permitted. All international flights must arrive through MSLP or Ilopango/MSSS, and present a domestic flight plan in the AIS/ARO Office.

Iraq
Iraq CAA has requested carriers to note the following: 1. File ICAO standard FPL minimum 1 hour prior departure. 2. At ORBI/Baghdad Int’l, there is a new briefing office in the Ops Room, airside in terminal. 3. For overflight permits, use new ICAA form 7.1
Iraq has also published a comprehensive list of banned air carriers and countries which are subject to additional safety assessment, available from the CAA.

Eurocontrol
Will deploy CFMU version 15.5 in late Sept/early Oct. IFPUV (Flight Plan Validation System) will be unavailable 2130-2330Z on 03 Oct.