Flight plans (SERA.4001)

Flight plans (SERA.4001)

A flight plan is your formal message to the air traffic services about an intended flight: who you are, where you are going, and when to worry if you do not arrive. For a PPL pilot the two critical questions are: when must I file one, and — often forgotten with expensive consequences — when and how must I close it. Both are reliable exam material.

What a flight plan is and why it matters

A flight plan (FPL) is specified information provided to ATS units regarding an intended flight or portion of a flight (ICAO Annex 2 §3.3; format in ICAO Doc 4444 PANS-ATM, Appendix 2). It serves:

• traffic management in controlled airspace,
• search and rescue alerting if an aircraft becomes overdue or is in distress,
• border formalities (customs/immigration) on international flights,
• central flow management in Europe — flight plans are processed by the IFPS at EUROCONTROL.

When a flight plan is required (SERA.4001(b))

A flight plan must be submitted for:

1. every IFR flight (any flight, or portion of it, to be provided with ATC service),
2. VFR flights crossing international borders,
3. VFR flights at night, if leaving the vicinity of the aerodrome,
4. VFR flights within or into areas or routes designated by the competent authority (e.g. certain airspace or TMAs),
5. any flight for which the competent authority otherwise requires a flight plan.

When and where to file

• Submit before departure to an ATS reporting office (or during flight to the appropriate ATS unit, as a so-called air-filed plan).
• File at least 60 minutes before EOBT (Estimated Off-Block Time).
• For flights subject to air traffic flow management (ATFM): at least 3 hours before EOBT.
• The IFPS (EUROCONTROL) validates the plan and distributes it electronically to all relevant ATS units along the route.

Contents of the FPL (ICAO Doc 4444, Appendix 2 — fields 7–19)

For a VFR flight, field 8 carries "V"; the type of flight for private flying is "G" (general aviation).

Changes and delays (SERA.4015)

Any change to a submitted flight plan must be reported to the ATS unit. In particular, a delay exceeding 30 minutes beyond EOBT requires an update (DLA message); route or destination changes are notified with a CHG message — or the old plan is cancelled (CNL) and a new one filed.

Closing the flight plan (SERA.4020)

• IFR: closed automatically by ATC on landing at an aerodrome with ATS.
• VFR at an aerodrome with ATS: also closed automatically.
• VFR at an aerodrome without ATS: the pilot must actively close the flight plan — as soon as practicable after landing, e.g. by telephone to the nearest ATS reporting office/AIS.

If no arrival report is received, the alerting service begins the SAR sequence 30 minutes after the expected arrival time: INCERFA (uncertainty) → ALERFA (alert) → DETRESFA (distress). An unclosed VFR flight plan is the classic trigger for an unnecessary — and potentially chargeable — SAR operation.

Germany (national)

• Flight plans are handled by the DFS AIS-C (Aeronautical Information Service Centre); filing via the online portal or by telephone.
• Night VFR away from the aerodrome and international VFR flights always require a flight plan.
• Key rule: whoever files a VFR flight plan and lands at an aerodrome without ATS must close it actively — otherwise SAR is launched.

Exam essentials

• A flight plan is required for every IFR flight, for VFR flights crossing international borders, and for night VFR flights leaving the vicinity of the aerodrome.
• File at least 60 minutes before EOBT; flights subject to ATFM require at least 3 hours lead time.
• FPL field 7 = callsign, field 15 = speed/level/route, field 16 = destination, EET and alternates, field 19 = supplementary information (endurance, POB, emergency equipment).
• Delays over 30 minutes and any significant change must be reported to ATS (SERA.4015).
• At an aerodrome without ATS, the pilot must close the VFR flight plan actively (SERA.4020); otherwise SAR phases INCERFA → ALERFA → DETRESFA begin 30 minutes after ETA.
• In Europe, all flight plans are processed centrally by the IFPS at EUROCONTROL.