FLIGHT PLANNING

FPL shall be submitted to the assigned ARO, depending on the aerodrome, via telephone or by other means stated by the appropriate ATS authority or if these means are not available, by radio to the ATS unit designated to serve the aerodrome of departure.

The pilot or his representative is responsible to communicate to the same ATS unit where he submitted his FPL, the subsequent associated messages to their flight plan: departure (DEP), delay (DLA), change (CHG) or cancellation (CNL).

Once the flight has ended, it is the pilot’s obligation to give notice of his arrival as soon as possible, personally or by radio, to the ATS unit of the AD of arrival.

When there is no ATS unit at the arrival aerodrome, the arrival notification will be reported to the nearest ATC Unit, or to the aeronautical station serving to the ATS unit in charge of the FIR in which aircraft is operating or to an assigned ATS reporting office.

When no means on ground are available to notify arrival messages, aircraft will broadcast inmediately before landing, by radio, if possible, a message similar to an arrival report. This broadcasting will be done to an assigned ATS reporting office or to the aeronautical station serving to the ATS unit in charge of the FIR in which aircraft is operating.

Uncompliance by the pilot with the above, specially relating to arrival notification (ARR), may lead to serious inconveniences to the ATS services and unnecessary search and rescue operations.

FLIGHT PLAN

1. In matters not provided in SERA.4001, the provisions specified in Annex II, Attachment A, shall apply to the submission of flight plans.

   The use of repetitive flight plans (RPL) shall adopt the provisions specified in Annex II, Attachment B.

   With regard to other matters not included under Regulation (EC) No 1033/2006 of 4 July 2006 laying down the requirements on procedures for flight plans in the pre-flight phase for the Single European Sky, contents and completion of flight plans, including repetitive flight plans (RPL), shall adopt the provisions specified in Annex II, Attachment C, and their acceptance by air traffic services units, shall adopt the provisions specified in Annex II, Attachment D.

   Additionally, completion of flight plans shall take into account all restrictions published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).

2. Furthermore, regarding contents of flight plans, including repetitive flight plans (RPL), the director of the National Aviation Safety Agency can, ex-officio, exemp from the compliance with any requirement on content and completion, any flight plan submitted during flight to cross an area or airway that requires such or VFR operations or any comparable event. Designated air traffic service units and aircraft operators can communicate the National Aviation Safety Agency their interest in simplifying specific flight plans.

   In order to adopt this resolution, reports from affected air traffic service providers that had not state their interest in simplified flight plans and from the competent military aeronautical authority.

   Report from the competent military authority is binding regarding air bases and military aerodromes opened to civil traffic and the aerodromes used jointly by an air base and an airport where the air traffic service provider is a military unit, the approval of the minimum separation provided in the precedent paragraph, correspond to the competent military aeronautical authority.

   The adopted resolution, published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) if estimated, ensures that a minimum content and completion of flight plans allow the provision of air traffic services.

3. The above resolution shall be established 6 months from the day after adoption of the initiation agreement. From that date, all interests should be considered dismissed by administrative silence in accordance with Article 25 of the Law 39/2015 of 1 October.

Section 4 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 923/2012 lists all information related to the flight plan and its submission. Additionally, the requirements established in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1772 and in Real Decreto 1180/20108 must be taken into account.

Contents of a flight plan

a) A flight plan shall contain information regarding such of the following items as are considered relevant by the competent authority:

1. Aircraft identification;

2. Flight rules and type of flight;

3. Number and type(s) of aircraft and wake turbulence category;

4. Equipment;

5. Departure aerodrome or operating site;

6. Estimated off-block time;

7. Cruising speed(s);

8. Cruising level(s);

9. Route to be followed;

10. Destination aerodrome or operating site and total estimated elapsed time;

11. Alternate aerodrome(s) or operating site(s);

12. Endurance;

13. Total number of persons on board;

14. Emergency and survival equipment;

15. Other information.

b) For flight plans filed in flight, the minimum content to be trasmitted on frequency will include the following items:

IFR:

1. Aircraft identification;

2. Type of aircraft;

3. Departure aerodrome or operating site;

4. Entry reporting point, estimated time and flight level;

5. Route;

6. Destination aerodrome.

VFR:

1. Aircraft identification;

2. Type of aircraft;

3. Departure aerodrome or operating site;

4. Entry reporting point, estimated time and altitude/flight level;

5. Destination aerodrome;

6. Alternate aerodrome or operating site;

7. Estimated time of arrival;

8. Endurance;

9. Persons on board.

The departure aerodrome or operating site to be provided will be the location from which, if required, the supplementary information concerning the flight can be obtained. In addition, the information to be provided in lieu of the estimated off-block time, shall be the time over the first point of the route to which the flight plan refers to.

Completion of a flight plan

1. A flight plan shall contain information, as applicable, on relevant items up to and including ‘Alternate aerodrome(s) or operating site(s)’ regarding the whole route or the part thereof for which the flight plan is submitted.

2. It shall, in addition, contain information, as applicable, on all other items when so prescribed by the competent authority or when otherwise deemed necessary by the person submitting the flight plan.

Changes to a flight plan

1. Subject to the provisions of SERA.8020 (b) all changes to a flight plan submitted for an IFR flight, or a VFR flight operated as a controlled flight, shall be reported as soon as practicable to the appropriate air traffic services unit. For other VFR flights, significant changes to a flight plan shall be reported as soon as practicable to the appropriate air traffic services unit.

2. Information submitted prior to departure regarding fuel endurance or total number of people carried on board, if incorrect at time of departure, constitutes a significant change to the flight plan and as such shall be reported.

Closing a flight plan

1. An arrival report shall be given in person, by radiotelephony, via data link or by other means as prescribed by the competent authority as soon as possible moment after landing, to the appropriate air traffic services unit at the arrival aerodrome, by any flight for which a flight plan has been submitted covering the entire flight or the remaining part of a flight to the destination aerodrome.

   1. Submission of an arrival report is not required after landing on an aerodrome where air traffic services are provided on condition that radio communication or visual signals indicate that the landing has been observed.

2. When a flight plan has been submitted only in respect of a part of a flight, other than the remaining part of a flight to destination, it shall, when required, be closed by an appropriate report to the relevant air traffic services unit.

3. When no air traffic services unit exists at the arrival aerodrome or operating site, the arrival report, when required, shall be made as soon as practicable after landing and by the quickest means available to the nearest air traffic services unit.

4. When communication measures at the arrival aerodrome or operating site are known to be inadequate and alternate arrangements for the handling of arrival reports on the ground are not available, the following action shall be taken. Immediately prior to landing the aircraft shall, if practicable, transmit to the appropriate air traffic services unit, a message comparable to an arrival report, where such a report is required. Normally, this transmission shall be made to the aeronautical station serving the air traffic services unit in charge of the flight information region in which the aircraft is operated.

5. Arrival reports made by aircraft shall contain the following elements of information:

   1. Aircraft identification;

   2. Departure aerodrome or operating site;

   3. Destination aerodrome or operating site (only in the case of a diversionary landing);

   4. Arrival aerodrome or operating site;

   5. Time of arrival.

Arrival notification for closing a flight plan

In addition to the reporting means specified in SERA.4020, any other means can be used to submit an arrival notification provided they meet the following requirements:

1. It is accepted by the designated air traffic service units and it is published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).

2. It ensures that the air traffic service unit that receives the arrival report can confirm receipt.

3. It ensures that such communication has unmistakably been submitted from the concerned aircraft.

SUBMISSION TIME

NOTE: All flights operating in its entirety whithin EUR Region (including Canary Islands), may submit the flight plan with more than 24 hours in advance of the EOBT, but not over 120 hours. The date of the flight must be stated by using the “DOF/” (date of flight) indicator in field 18 of the flight plan form.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE FLIGHT PLAN FORM

Follow exactly the stated formats and manner of specifying data.

Start inserting data in the first space provided. Where excess space is available leave unused spaces blank.

Insert all clock times in 4 figures UTC.

Insert all estimated elapsed times in 4 figures (hours and minutes).

Shaded area preceding item 3: to be completed by ATS and COM services, unless the responsaibility of originating flight plan messages has been delegated.

NOTE: The term “aerodrome” where used in the flight plan is intended to cover also sites other than aerodromes which may be used by certain types of aircraft, e. g. helicopters or balloons.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSERTION OF ATS DATA

Complete items 7 to 18 as indicated hereunder.

Complete also item 19 as indicated hereunder, when It is planned in the applicable regulation, when so required by the designated provider of air traffic services, or when otherwise deemed necessary.

NOTE 1:Item numbers on the form are not consecutive, as they correspond to Field Type numbers in ATS messages.

NOTE 2: Air traffic services data systems may impose communications or processing constraints on information in filed flight plans. Possible constraints may, for example, be limits with regard to item length, number of elements in the route item or total flight plan length. Significant constraints are documented in the relevant Aeronautical Information Publication.

ITEM 7: Aircraft identification (maximum 7 characters).

Insert one of the following aircraft identifications, not exceeding 7 alphanumeric characters and without hyphens and symbols:

1. The ICAO designator for the aircraft operating agency followed by the flight identification (e.g. KLM511, NGA213, JTR25) when in radiotelephony the call sign to be used by the aircraft will consist of the ICAO telephony designator for the operating agency followed by the flight identification (e.g. KLM 511, NIGERIA 213, JESTER 25). Or

2. The nationality or common mark and the registration mark of the aircraft (e.g. EIAKO, 4XBCD, N2567GA), when:

   1. the radiotelephony call sign to be used by the aircraft consists of this identification alone (e.g. CGAJS) or is preceded by the ICAO telephony designator for the aircraft operating agency (e.g. BLIZZARD CGAJS);

   2. the aircraft is not equipped with radio. Or

3. The registration mark or the radiotelephony call sign when military aircraft on domestic flights are concerned.

NOTE 1: Provisions for the use of radiotelephony call signs are contained in ICAO Annex 10 “Aeronautical Telecommunications”, Volume II, Chapter 5 and in the fourth book of the Reglamento de la Circulación Aérea. ICAO designators and telephony designators for aircraft operating agencies are contained in Doc. 8585, “Designators for Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services”.

NOTE 2: Standards for nationality, common and registration marks to be used are contained in ICAO Annex 7 “Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks”, Chapter 2.

ITEM 8: Flight rules and type of flight (1 or 2 characters).