AIP

ESPAÑA

ENR 1.5

WEF 27-NOV-25

HOLDING, APPROACH AND DEPARTURE PROCEDURES

1. GENERAL

A list of the applicable rules can be consulted in section GEN 1.6. In the sections below, a descriptive summary is offered to help airspace users, although if there is any discrepancy, the Rule will prevail over the content of the AIP. The content of this AIP section does not fulfil the quality requirements.

Civil holding, approach and departure procedures are based on those contained in ICAO DOC 8168-OPS/611 (PANSOPS).

Military holding, approach and departure procedures are based on those contained in APATC-1 and ICAO DOC 8168- OPS/611 (PANS/OPS).

Some of these procedures are liable to speed adjusting; the indicated speed admits a tolerance of ±10 kt. As soon as speed adjusting is no longer necessary aircraft will be stated: “no ATC speed restrictions”.

Pilots shall comply as closely as possible with the procedures specified in AD 2 and ENR 6. These procedures are considered noise abatement preferential routings. ATC shall be informed if for any reason a procedure cannot be performed.

Read-back of clearances and safety-related information

  1. The flight crew shall read back to the air traffic controller safety-related parts of air traffic control (ATC) clearances and instructions which are transmitted by voice. The following items shall always be read back:

    1. ATC route clearances,

    2. clearances and instructions to enter, land on, take off from, hold short of, cross, taxi and backtrack on any runway;

    3. runway-in-use, altimeter settings, SSR codes, newly assigned communication channels, level instructions, heading and speed instructions; and

    4. transition levels, whether issued by the controller or contained in ATIS broadcasts.

  2. Other clearances or instructions, including conditional clearances and taxi instructions, shall be read-back or acknowledged in a manner to clearly indicate that they have been understood and will be complied with.

  3. The controller shall listen to the read-back to ascertain that the clearance or instruction has been correctly acknowledged by the flight crew and shall take immediate action to correct any discrepancies revealed by the read-back.

  4. Voice read-back of CPDLC messages shall not be required, unless otherwise specified by the ANSP.

  5. SERA.14001 shall be applied when standardized phraseology is not useful and, on that basis, it is expected that pilots, ATS personnel and other ground personnel use everyday language, which besides the clarity required by the aforementioned section of SERA, shall be as concise as possible, to a level that meets requirements of ICAO with regard to language proficiency required by the applicable legislation on personnel licenses.

2. ARRIVING FLIGHTS

Terminal zone

Area control service will clear IFR flights landing within a TMA to a specified point and will instruct them to contact with the ATS unit providing approach service.

Aircraft entering or overflying a TMA shall keep the flight paths indicated in the appropriate charts; a complete description of the pertinent arrival procedure may be obtained, on request, from the ACC. Nevertheless, the suitable ATS unit will clear aircraft to proceed on more direct routes to specific points whenever traffic permitting.

ENR 6 and AD 2 sections contain the arrival and overflying, standardized or not, specific IFR/VFR procedures of those terminal areas where they are defined.

Control and aerodrome traffic zones

VFR CROSSING:

VFR aircraft wishing to cross a control zone, or aerodrome traffic zone, shall proceed as follows:

  1. Contact radio with APP/TWR shall be established in the appropriate frequency, at least, 5 minutes before reaching the first VFR reporting point, and shall notify to APP/TWR of its intention to cross on VFR the corresponding CTR/ATZ.

  2. Normally, when aircraft is over the VFR reporting point, APP/TWR shall clear to cross the CTR/ATZ and shall indicate the way to follow, the altitude to maintain and, if necessary, it will provide essential traffic information during the aircraft permanence within the airspace to be crossed.

  3. Aircraft shall report to APP/TWR the entry and exit of CTR/ATZ and must maintain watch in the appropriate frequency while it is within the airspace to be crossed.

VFR ARRIVALS:

VFR flights entering to land within a CTR shall establish contact radio with the appropriate ATS unit over the reporting points indicated in the charts and they shall request clearance to enter in the CTR.

In certain cases, aircraft shall perform holdings in the above mentioned points before entering the CTR.

Under no circumstances runway approach areas should be crossed without prior permission from control tower.

AD 2 and ENR 6 sections contain specific visual approach procedures.

3. DEPARTING FLIGHTS

General

Flights departing from controlled aerodromes will receive initial ATC clearance from the control tower. For IFR flights, the clearance limit will normally be the aerodrome of destination and detailed instructions will be issued with regard to routes, turnings, etc. after taking-off.

ATC and startup clearance via data link (DCL)

A. INTRODUCTION

The DCL service provides an additional data link means of requesting and issuing ATC and startup clearance for departing aircraft, not intended to replace, but to co-exist with, voice communications.

In the event of any discrepancy, voice communications will prevail over data link.

The DCL service is compliant with the EUROCAE specification ED-85A and is available to all ACARS-equipped aircraft with a contract with the air communications service provider (ACSP) SITA and/or ARINC.

B. DCL MESSAGES

The following operational messages may be sent by the pilot:

  • RCD: Request Clearance Departure message, which implicitly includes startup request.

  • CDA: Clearance Departure Echoback message, equivalent to read back.

The following operational message may be sent by the controller:

  • CLD: Clearance Departure message, including in field 9 additional information on the extent of the startup clearance or instructions for requesting it via voice.

The following system message is sent automatically by the ATC system:

  • FSM: Flight System Message, a logical response that may be positive or negative.

C. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURE

The decision to use DCL or voice communications is entirely at the discretion of the pilot and/or controller involved, but DCL use is highly recommended to optimize voice communications and to avoid frequency congestion.

C.1 Step 1

Pilot shall request DCL ATC and startup clearance in advance according to the startup procedures of the local regulation for the departure aerodrome (AD 2, item 20).

The RCD (Request Clearance Departure) message shall include the following data:

  • Aircraft call sign, according to the filed flight plan (FPL).

  • Departure aerodrome.

  • Parking position.

  • Destination aerodrome.

  • Letter of the ATIS information received.

  • ICAO designator of the aircraft type.

Free text contained in the RCD message will not be considered by ATC. Any specific request shall be transmitted by voice.

C.2 Step 2

Pilot will receive one of the following messages:

RCD RECEIVED REQUEST BEING PROCESSED STANDBY

FSM automatically sent by the ATC system when an RCD message is correctly processed.

RCD REJECTED REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*
RCD REJECTED ERROR IN MESSAGE REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*

FSM automatically sent by the ATC system when any inconsistency is detected within the RCD message.

RCD REJECTED FLIGHT PLAN NOT HELD REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*

FSM automatically sent by the ATC system when there is any inconsistency with flight plan data.

RCD REJECTED REQUEST TOO LATE REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*

FSM automatically sent by the ATC system when an RCD message has been sent later than the parameter time specified for the departure aerodrome.

RCD REJECTED REQUEST TOO EARLY SEND REQUEST NN MIN BEFORE EOBT
RCD REJECTED REQUEST TOO EARLY SEND REQUEST NN MIN BEFORE TOBT

FSM automatically sent by the ATC system when an RCD message has been sent earlier than the parameter time specified for the departure aerodrome.

RCD REJECTED REQUEST ALREADY RECEIVED STANDBY

FSM automatically sent by the ATC system when an RCD message has been received previously and the reply by ATC is pending.

* When a REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES message is received, data link communication will be terminated and the revert to voice procedure will apply (see section 4).

C.3 Step 3

When an RCD is correctly processed, the controller may:

  1. Manually reject the request, sending the following FSM:

    2. RCD RECEIVED CLEARANCE CANCELLED REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*

    * When a REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES message is received, data link communication will be terminated and the revert to voice procedure will apply (see section 4).

  2. Accept the request, sending a CLD message with the following fields:
  1. Aircraft call sign.
  2. Destination aerodrome.
  3. Departure runway.
  4. Standard Instrument Departure (SID).
  5. Note: The initial altitude will be the one specified in the SID description.
  6. Mode A SSR code (SQUAWK).
  7. ADT (Approved Departure Time).
  8. Note: ADT=CTOT of the flight, if any.
  9. Next frequency.
  10. Letter of the current ATIS information.
  11. Additional information, including the type of clearance issued in CLD message. Clearances requested via CLD will be granted based on time parameters from AIP local regulation of every aerodrome (AD 2, item 20).

STARTUP APPROVED

Startup approved and ATC clearance issued.

TSAT HHMM STAND BY ON XXX.XX FOR STARTUP

ATC clearance issued, TSAT information (CDM) and startup pending via voice.

TSAT HHMM READY MESSAGE SENT STAND BY ON XXX.XXX FOR STARTUP

ATC clearance issued (in the range TOBT±5’), READY message sent, TSAT (CDM) and startup information pending via voice.

CONTACT READY AT TOBT ON XXX.XXX

ATC clearance issued and startup request pending via voice according to TOBT (CDM).

STAND BY ON XXX.XXX FOR STARTUP

ATC clearance issued and startup pending via voice (no CDM).

CONTACT READY ACCORDING EOBT/CTOT ON XXX.XXX

ATC clearance issued and startup pending via voice according to EOBT/CTOT (n CDM).

 

C.4 Step 4

When a CLD message is received, pilot shall:

  1. Revert to voice to request a new clearance if any inconsistency is detected in the received message (see section 4).

  2. Respond via data link with a CDA (Departure Clearance Echoback) message if the clearance of the CLD message is considered correct.

If no CDA message is received within the time-out parameter, the CDA message is inconsistent with the previous CLD message, or an incorrect CDA message is received, data link communication will be terminated and one of the following FSM, respectively, will be received by the pilot:

RCD RECEIVED CLEARANCE CANCELLED REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*

CDA REJECTED CLEARANCE CANCELLED REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*

CDA REJECTED ERROR IN MESSAGE REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES*

* When a REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES message is received, data link communication will be terminated and the revert to voice procedure will apply (see section 4).

C.5 Step 5

When a correct CDA message is received, the ATC system will send the following FSM to the aircraft and terminate the data link communication:

CDA RECEIVED CLEARANCE CONFIRMED

D. REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURE

Upon receiving a: “REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES” type of message, or if there is any inconsistency in the received clearance, the pilot shall contact the controller by voice to request a new clearance.

Standard instrument departures

The regulated departure procedures indicates, in an abbreviated way, the departure routes and the phraseology used by ATC in the initial clearances, in order to:

  1. simplify phraseology,

  2. give the pilot, prior take-off, the departure description in a written form.

The crossing flight levels/altitudes indicated in every clearance are the minimum at which each specific point must be crossed according to the route to be flown.

In order to provide vertical separation between aircraft, ATC may include in the inicial clearance an specified flight level/altitude to be maintained up to a fixed point or time, that shall never be lower than those minimum ones above indicated.

A complete description of the pertinent departure procedure may be obtained by pilots when requested to the control tower prior to take-off.

The minimum climb gradient required for every SID is specified up to a flight level/altitude from which a minimum gradient of 3.3% must be maintained till the aircraft reaches the minimum altitude/flight level of the route to be flown.

A detailed description of these procedures is shown in ENR 6 and AD 2 sections.

4. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION AND PROCEDURES

4.1. HOLDINGS

Holding and approach procedures in use are based on the values and factors contained in Part II of the PANS-OPS.

Unless different conditions have been stablished for a specific procedure, the holding patterns shall be entered and flown as indicated below:

SPEED (Standard conditions)

Up to FL140

170 kt (CAT A, B and H)

Up to FL140

230 kt

Above FL140 to FL200 inclusive

240 kt

Above FL200 to FL340 inclusive

265 kt

Above FL340

0.83 Mach

OUTBOUND TIME AND DISTANCE

Up to FL140 inclusive

1 min

Above FL140

1 min 30 sec

DME distance is specified in the outbound leg where DME is available.

HOLDING PATTERN INCOMPATIBILITIES IN TERMINAL AREAS

Compatibility criteria:

  • Incompatibility has been considered up to FL240 (inclusive).

  • The highest flight level or altitude on which both holding patterns are still compatible is indicated in the boxes.

  • Empty boxes indicate that incompatibility does not occur up to the flight level considered.

  • Headings in holding patterns are inbound.

  • NC: Not compatible.

4.2. PROCEDURES AT AFIS AERODROMES

General

The AFIS unit shall issue information to aircraft in its area of responsibility to achieve a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic. AFIS officers (AFISO) shall maintain a continuous watch by visual observation of all flight operations on and in the vicinity of an aerodrome, as well as vehicles and personnel on the manoeuvring area.

An Apron Management Service is provided by AFIS to regulate the activities and movement of aircraft on the apron.

Aircraft at AFIS aerodromes and within their associated FIZ shall operate in accordance with a flight plan and must be equipped for two way radio communications.

The pilot shall establish and maintain two way communications with the AFIS unit, and he/she shall notify his position, altitude, and any significant manoeuvres and intentions to this unit.

In general, the pilot shall provide all information requested by the AFIS unit for the fulfillment of its duties.

Whilst operating at the airport or in its vicinity, the pilot shall, based on the information provided by the AFIS unit and his/her own knowledge and observations, decide on the actions to take in order to ensure its separation from aircraft, land vehicles and obstacles.

AFIS shall stick to duly report essential traffic information, with which the pilot shall decide on the appropriate trajectory or manoeuvre to follow. Regardless of any pilot action, the

AFIS officer shall report, adequately and without delay, information with regard to any perceived dangerous situation in his area of responsibility.

Flight plans shall be submitted according to ENR 1.10, nevertheless, where an AFIS aerodrome has no associated air traffic reporting office, flight plans may be submitted or closed by means of a report to the AFIS unit of the aerodrome. The service provided by the AFIS unit in that case is comparable to that of an air traffic reporting office.

Operations in the flight information zone

ARRIVALS

IFR traffic bound for an AFIS aerodrome, shall contact with the AFIS unit, notify their intentions and enter the FIZ following the procedures established in the approach charts.

VFR traffic bound for an AFIS aerodrome, shall contact the AFIS unit and notify their intentions prior to reaching the reporting points indicated in the Visual Approach Chart.

VFR traffic shall enter the FIZ via the designated points, proceeding on the indicated magnetic tracks to join the visual circuit maintaining the maximum altitude published in the Visual Approach Chart.

As soon as possible, after the aircraft have established contact with the AFIS unit and before the aircraft joins the traffic circuit, the following information shall be provided, except that known to have been already received by the pilot:

  1. the preferential runway and direction of the traffic circuit;

  2. up to date meteorological information; and

  3. essential traffic information and aerodrome conditions, when appropriate.

The AFIS officer shall not provide any instructions with regard to joining the traffic circuit, nor shall he/she establish a landing order.

The pilot will report joining the circuit, on base and on final.

Once the landing has been completed, the pilot shall report his/her taxi intentions, he/she shall request permission to enter the apron and he/she shall notify when the flight plan has been terminated.

As soon as possible aircraft shall report missed approaches and their intentions, if it is the case.

DEPARTURES

IFR traffic departing from an AFIS aerodrome shall contact with the AFIS unit and notify their intentions. Before take-off, the AFIS unit shall relay the appropriate ATC clearance (CTOT included when subject to ATFM measures) provided to enter in controlled airspace, the traffic information and the assigned transponder code.

VFR traffic intending to leave the FIZ, shall do so via the designated points and they shall notify their intentions to the AFIS unit, including the reporting point to be used.

The VFR flight shall report the AFIS leaving the FIZ over the relevant reporting point.

COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE

The communications failure procedure is detailed in the Visual Approach Chart.