NAT Guide 2026 – My First NAT Flight is Tomorrow – International Ops 2025

The latest edition (2026) of the NAT Guide (“My First North Atlantic Flight is Tomorrow”) has now been published. This 24-page guide is for pilots and dispatchers, to help you understand the basics of North Atlantic flying.

What’s different about the NAT?
What’s changed? Recent updates (2026 → 2016), including datalink, tracks, comms, and procedures.
(Updated 2026) Circle of Entry: what you actually need to enter different parts of NAT airspace (now reflects current surveillance and corridor logic).
NAT Quick Map: Gander and Shanwick boundaries, plus updated routing overview.
Routine Flight Example: Brussels to JFK (step-by-step): HLA requirements, flight planning, paperwork, RCL vs clearance, oceanic entry, weather deviations, contingencies.
Non-Routine Flights: what you can do without: PBCS, RVSM, RNP4 / RNAV 10, HF, 1 LRNS, HLA approval, ETOPS, TCAS, datalink – including the Iceland-Greenland corridor workaround.
VHF Coverage Maps – FL100 / 200 / 300 across the NAT
Diversion Airports Guide: practical notes on key alternates from Keflavik and Shannon to Goose Bay and Bermuda.
Airport Data: updated list including Keflavik, Shannon, Gander, Goose Bay, plus revised Greenland options (BGGH, BGQO, etc).
Special NAT Procedures: Mach number technique, SLOP, comms, transition areas, exits, and common mistakes.
North Atlantic ATC Contacts: Shanwick, Gander, Iceland, Bodo, Santa Maria, New York, plus adjacent domestic units.
NAT FPL Codes and Flight Levels: what to file and how.
Contingency Procedures: weather deviations and in-flight emergencies.
Oceanic Clearance vs RCL: who does what now, including timing windows and differences between FIRs.
Common Gotchas: real-world mistakes and lessons from OPSGROUP members.
GNSS Interference / Spoofing: what to expect and what to do.
Links, Questions, Guidance

There are two options to download a copy of the NAT Guide 2026:

OPSGROUP Members

You can get it in your Member Dashboard, under Briefings and Guides.

Not a member?

Option 1: Buy a copy in the store ($25)
Option 2: Apply to join OPSGROUP, and get it for free!

With an OPSGROUP membership, all publications like this from the group – current and future – are free of charge and all available through the Member Dashboard. Join with an individual, team, or airline/dept membership – and connect with over 8000 other pilot, dispatch, ATC, and operations members.

What’s changed?

Now for a bit of a deeper dive into what’s changed in this version compared to last year. We’ve taken what was already there and just brought it up to speed with how things are actually working on the NAT today, plus tightened up a few areas that have evolved or caused confusion.

OCR vs RCL – what’s actually happening now

We’ve updated the oceanic clearance picture to reflect how things are currently working in practice. The new version makes it clearer who’s doing what: Gander, Bodo and Santa Maria are using RCL, Shanwick is still issuing oceanic clearances, and Reykjavik and New York don’t require anything at all. We’ve also added the actual RCL timing windows, so it’s more precise on when to send it.

Blue Spruce gone, Iceland-Greenland corridor explained properly

We’ve moved away from the old Blue Spruce framing and replaced it with a clearer explanation of the Iceland-Greenland corridor. It now shows how these VHF-style routings work today – operating under VHF + ADS-B surveillance, without HF or datalink, and in some cases without full HLA approval. We’ve also aligned the HLA messaging across the doc so it’s consistent: HLA approval is still required for normal operations, but the corridor works as a practical workaround under surveillance.

GNSS interference now a common concern

GNSS jamming and spoofing now feature more prominently, with some practical guidance on what to do if you’ve had issues before entering the NAT and what to expect if it happens in flight. We’ve also added the “CONFIRM RNP” message, which crews are increasingly seeing in real-world ops.

Datalink and surveillance logic cleaned up

The datalink section has been simplified to make it easier to understand where it’s required, where it isn’t, and how surveillance-based operations (like the corridor or GOTA) fit in. It’s now a bit more aligned with how you’d actually think about it when planning a crossing.

Greenland alternates brought up to date

The alternates section now reflects the latest changes in Greenland. BGBW is no longer in use, BGGH is now a jet-capable option, and BGQO has been added as a new southern alternate. It’s a more current picture of what’s available on the ground.

General tidy-up

Removed a bunch of older wording that didn’t quite match how things are done now.
Added a clearer explanation of NAT Tracks and how they’re actually used.
Navigation specs have been standardized to RNAV 10 (RNP 10), in line with ICAO PBN terminology, just to keep everything consistent.
Updated waypoint naming, including half-degree fixes.
Tidied up the airport data and Greenland alternates.
Added a few extra real-world notes (like squawk exceptions and small ops details).
Other bits and pieces that we’ve forgotten about.

We hope you find the guide useful! 👨🏻‍✈️✈️👨‍✈️ᯓ ✈︎

If you want the full background on the recent NAT changes behind all this, it’s worth checking these too:

March 2026 changes here.
The full NAT timeline of all changes going back to the dawn of time.

NAT Guide 2026 – My First NAT Flight is Tomorrow