Update – 29 Sep 2025
Eurocontrol has confirmed that from 4 Nov 2025, the IFPS (Integrated Initial Flight Plan Processing System) will automatically reject any flight plans filed above FL285 unless CPDLC is filed correctly.
IFPS is the central system that processes and validates all flight plans in European airspace. If your plan is filed incorrectly, it will be rejected, and you won’t be able to depart until the error is fixed.
To avoid rejection:
- If equipped:
– Field 10a: J1
– Field 18: CODE/XXX (Mode S hex code) - If exempt from the mandate or CPDLC is unserviceable:
– Field 10a: Z
– Field 18: DAT/CPDLCX
Important: Do not file both J1 and DAT/CPDLCX together, and do not leave both out. Either scenario will result in automatic rejection by the IFPS system.
Also important: You don’t need to file either J1 nor CPDLCX if your requested level is below FL285.
Also also important: Eurocontrol has also advised separately that if CPDLC is unserviceable, you may continue to operate above FL285 for up to 10 days under MEL relief, provided the flight plan is filed correctly using DAT/CPDLCX. After this period, you must either fix the issue or operate below FL285.
Also also also important: On 4 Nov 2025, IFPS will be unavailable between 2100-0000 UTC for a system upgrade. The outage is expected to last about one hour, but up to two hours if a rollback is needed. During this time, no flight plans can be filed or validated, so submit plans in advance.
For the full Eurocontrol notes on this latest update, check here.
Original Story – Key Points
- There is a mandate for datalink EQUIPAGE for flights above FL285 throughout Europe. There are various different exemptions for this.
- This mandate only applies to aircraft with ATN datalink. If your aircraft only has FANS 1/A, you don’t need to comply – but you also won’t be able to get CPDLC across most of Europe.
- There are also some places where datalink LOGON is mandatory.
Datalink in Europe can be bamboozling – multiple chunks of airspace, all in close proximity to each other, all with varying levels of operating capability when it comes to CPDLC. Plus there’s a Logon List to consider. And a Datalink Mandate. And different considerations depending on what kind of datalink you’ve got onboard…
So here’s a simple guide on how it all works, and what the rules are.
Explain it to me in three sentences
- You need ATN datalink for flights above FL285 in Europe (i.e. you need to have equipped aircraft and trained crews).
- If you don’t have ATN datalink, but are exempt from the Mandate (as per one of the categories below), then you can still fly above FL285.
- If you don’t have ATN datalink, but are not exempt from the Mandate, you can’t fly above FL285.
Is there a Datalink Mandate in Europe?
Yes. The European Datalink Mandate is for ATN datalink equipage for flights above FL285 throughout Europe. (Equipage – not necessarily for logon! More on that later…)
Is my aircraft exempt?
Quite possibly – many aircraft are exempt from the equipage mandate:
- Aircraft with a certificate of airworthiness first issued before 1 January 1995.
- Aircraft with a certificate of airworthiness first issued before 1 Jan 2018 and fitted prior to this date with FANS 1/A.
- Aircraft with 19 seats or less and a MTOW of 45359 kg (100000 lbs) or less, with a first individual certificate of airworthiness issued before 5 Feb 2020.
- Aircraft flying for testing, delivery or for maintenance purposes or with datalink temporarily
inoperative (under MEL exemption). - Aircraft in this list (Annex I).
- Aircraft in this list (Annex II) with a CofA issued before 5 Feb 2020.
You can find these rules and exemptions in this EU doc (updated in Sep 2023).
The Logon List
This is what you need to get registered on to get CPDLC service when flying in:
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Maastricht UAC (i.e. the upper airspace above FL245 over Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – one of Europe’s busiest and most complex airspace areas.)
- Poland
- France (6 March 2025 for LFEE, LFMM, LFRR, LFBB / November 2025 for LFFF)
If you get your aircraft added to the Logon List, that means you’ll be able to use CPDLC in these areas and will probably get better directs and faster climbs. However, if your avionics are not eligible to be on the Logon List, ATC will not currently restrict you to the flight levels below FL285.
The Logon List is basically to ensure that aircraft with buggy avionics don’t ruin the network for everyone else – including ATC.
For more info, including details of how to get your aircraft registered on the Logon List, check Eurocontrol’s dedicated page here.
Important to note: the Logon List only applies to aircraft with ATN datalink – not FANS 1/A. So essentially, if your aircraft only has FANS 1/A, you don’t need to register – but you also won’t be able to get CPDLC across most of Europe (more on that below…)
Where can I get CPDLC in Europe?
As of June 2024, these places:
For more info about which FIRs provide datalink, and at what flight levels, check here.
Is CPDLC logon mandatory?
The European Datalink Mandate is for CPDLC equipage, not for logon.
But yes, provided you’ve got ATN CPDLC, there are some places where logon is mandatory ⬇️
Here’s a running list of the places we know where logon is mandatory, in chronological order of when they implemented the rule:
- Maastricht UAC [EDYY] above FL245 (source: Eurocontrol) and Karlsruhe UAC [EDUU] above FL285 (source: Germany AIP GEN 3.4)
- Cyprus [LCCC Nicosia] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Hungary [LHCC Budapest] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Finland [EFIN Helsinki] above FL095 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Denmark (EKDK Copenhagen] above FL285 (source: AIC 5/23)
- Sweden [ESMM Malmo, ESOS Stockholm] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Romania [LRBB Bucharest] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Serbia and Montenegro [LYBA Belgrade] above FL205 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Czech Republic [LKAA Prague] above FL195 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- France [LFFF Paris, LFEE Reims, LFMM Marseille, LFBB Bordeaux, LFRR Brest] above FL195 (source: AIC 10/23 and AIP GEN 3.4)
- Switzerland [LSAG Geneva, LSAZ Zurich] above FL145 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Slovakia [LZBB Bratislava] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Croatia [LDZO Zagreb] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Bulgaria [LBSR Sofia] above FL215 (source AIRAC AMDT 5/24)
- Slovenia [LJLA Ljubljana] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Poland [EPWW Warsaw] above FL285 (source: AIP GEN 3.4)
- Spain & Canaries – coming at some point soon!
Recent News: Some Logon and FPL Filing stuff to watch our for! ⬇️
From Nov 2025: Flight plans in Europe above FL285 without J1 or DAT/CPDLCX will be rejected. This was advised by Eurocontrol in their Feb 27 webinar on datalink guidance for aircraft operators (you can watch the replay here).
From Oct 2024: MUAC have started reporting to the relevant NSAs those aircraft which don’t comply with the requirement to file either J1 or DAT/CPDLCX in the FPL if filed above FL285. We heard this issue is especially true for bizjets – around half of which are capable but don’t log on.
From July 2024: Eurocontrol started checking correct flight plan filing regarding CPDLC. Flight plans indicating J1 capability, but missing CODE/XXX in Field 18 will be rejected.
From Feb 2024: After some issues with the new LYBA logon code for Serbia and Montenegro which you can read about here) Eurocontrol started asking operators to make sure their aircraft avionics ATN addressing database is up to date, to include all the right codes as per the latest version of ICAO EUR Doc 028.
So what do I put in my FPL?
Got ATN datalink? Put J1 in field 10a of the flight plan. Also put CODE/XXX in Field 18 – instead of the XXX you need to put your Aircraft/Mode S address in hex (e.g. CODE/A519D9).
Exempt from the Mandate? Put Z in field 10a and DAT/CPDLCX in field 18 of the flight plan. If you don’t, ATC won’t know you’re exempt, and you may struggle to fly above FL285! (And remember – you should either file J1 or DAT/CPDLCX, not the two together. Flight plans with this wrong filing will be rejected).
Only got FANS 1/A? Read the section below! ⬇️
My aircraft only has FANS 1/A. What do I do?
Assuming you qualify for the first exemption to the Datalink Mandate we mentioned at the top of this post (aircraft with a certificate of airworthiness first issued before 1 Jan 2018 and fitted prior to this date with FANS 1/A), you don’t need to comply with the Datalink Mandate, but you also won’t be able to get CPDLC across most of Europe – ATC will talk to you on the radio instead.
The only bits of airspace in Europe where you can still get CPDLC using FANS 1/A are:
- EGTT/London, EGPX/Scottish, EISN/Shannon FIRs. But be aware that in EGTT there is no automatic logon transfer from FANS1/A to ATN – ie. if you’re flying from EGTT to EDYY and you are connected via FANS1/A to EGTT then you will have to log on again with EDYY.
- GCCC/Canarias FIR.
- LRBB/Bucaresti FIR.
Everywhere else in Europe is only capable of working with ATN datalink. Note that in Maastricht Upper Airspace (MUAC) they say that dual-stack aircraft must be reconfigured to logon via ATN, and aircraft with only FANS 1/A will continue to supported by conventional VHF.
So if you’ve only got FANS 1/A, here’s what you put on your FPL:
In field 10a:
Put Z and one of the following –
J5 – If using SATCOM (Inmarsat) for CPDLC
J7 – If using SATCOM (Iridium) for CPDLC
In field 18:
DAT/CPDLCX
Download the Europe Datalink Quick Reference PDF
One page PDF of pretty much everything you need to know. Just click here.
Click for PDF.
Download the Eurocontrol CPDLC guidance docs
Eurocontrol’s Operational Focus Group has published some new Datalink guidance docs for pilots, effective March 2025. These include tips on when and how to log on, uplink message handling, and other good CPDLC practices. There are separate docs with specific guidance depending on whether you’re using Jeppesen, Lido, or Navblue EFBs. Download the PDFs below.
Jeppesen – download PDF.
Lido – download PDF.
Navblue – download PDF.
Any more questions?
This EASA Q&A site is a good place to try.
Failing that, send us an email at news@ops.group, and we’ll do our best to get it answered for you!