Submitting a flight plan correctly - A comprehensive guide

Introduction: When and why is a flight plan filed?

A flight plan is an essential instrument in aviation that ensures both the safety and efficiency of flights. It is used to inform air traffic control (ATC) about the planned flight route, flight time and other relevant details. This ensures emergency rescues, coordinated flight movements and a smooth flow of air traffic.

There are flight plans that are submitted before take-off and those that are submitted by radio during the flight.

When is a flight plan required?

A flight plan is mandatory in the following cases:

• For all international flights across national borders, unless the individual countries explicitly waive this. You can find the relevant information under "Flying abroad" in our Pilot Hub.
• For all IFR flights.
• For all flights that pass through controlled airspace or restricted areas.
• For all flights at night beyond the vicinity of the aerodrome.

In addition, filing a flight plan is useful (although not mandatory) if:

• a flight takes place in a remote area in order to better coordinate rescue teams in an emergency.
• Whenever this is deemed appropriate for safety reasons.

Ways to file a flight plan

There are various ways to submit a flight plan. Modern technologies have simplified this process considerably:

1. By fax: Classic method used primarily by flight schools or smaller aerodromes.
2. Via the Internet: Web portals such as AIS-C (http://ais.dfs.de) in Germany, home briefing (homebriefing.com) in Austria or Skybriefing (skybriefing.com) in Switzerland offer user-friendly interfaces for submitting flight plans.
3. Flight planning apps: Apps like ForeFlight, SkyDemon or Garmin Pilot enable direct submission and offer additional functions such as weather reports and airspace analyses.

With the usual flight plan submission via the Internet, you will receive a confirmation by e-mail. If it is an IFR flight or a night VFR flight, you will also receive an accept message (or a change to the desired routing if necessary).

The flight plan should be submitted at the earliest 5 days and at the latest 60 minutes before departure.

If you are flying VFR and want to fly through a control zone, you should make this request by radio at least 10 minutes before the planned entry point. If clearance is granted, a simplified flight plan is created in the background, as this is - as described above - necessary for flying through controlled airspace.

Structure of a flight plan

A flight plan consists of several fields that contain specific information about the flight. Below you will find an illustration of a typical flight plan with an explanation of the individual fields:

Figure 1: Flight plan (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flugplan)

Explanation of the individual fields in the flight plan

1. The upper area with ADDRESSES, FILING TIME and ORIGINATOR can be filled in accordingly, but this is not mandatory. The following fields are important. 
2. Aircraft Identification (field 7):
   • The call sign of the aircraft is entered here, e.g. the aircraft registration number (D-ABCD).
3. Flight Rules (field 8):
   • Flight rule labelling: "V" for VFR (also for night flights), "I" for IFR, "Y" (IFR to VFR), "Z" (VFR to IFR)
4. Type of Flight (field 8):
   • Type of flight, e.g. "G" for General Aviation. During training, use "X" for other flights and the explanation "LIC" in field 18 for "Licence Flight", i.e. training flight.
5. Number and Type of Aircraft (field 9):
   • Number of aircraft. This only needs to be entered if several aircraft of the same type are travelling together. In all other cases, simply leave this field blank 
   • Aircraft type, e.g. "C172" for a Cessna 172. The abbreviations of all aircraft types are standardised to four digits and can be found here: www.icao.int/publications/DOC8643. For aircraft without a code, take ZZZZ and explain this in field 18 as "TYP/..."
   • Wake Turbulence Cat: wake turbulence category "L" (Light) up to 7000kg MTOW (maximum take-off weight), "M" (Medium) up to 136t, "H" (Heavy) over 136t, "J" (Super) only for A380
6. Equipment (field 10):
   • Equipment of the aircraft, e.g. "S" for standard equipment (includes VHF, VOR and ILS), "D" for DME, "G" for GPS. The equipment codes can be relatively complex. A list can be found here, for example: https://www.faasafety.gov/files/events/WP/WP19/2022/WP19117655/ICAO_Equip_Code_Definitions.pdf Many of the popular navigation apps also offer very good fill-in aids here
   • After this, write "/" and information on the transponder: "N" (not available), "C" (mode A and C) or "S" (mode S)
7. Departure Aerodrome and EOBT (field 13):
   • ICAO code of the departure airport, e.g. "EDLN" for Mönchengladbach.
   • Time of Departure: Planned blocking time (EOBT) in UTC. This is the time at which "an aircraft starts to move for the purpose of take-off". 
8. Cruising speed, level and route (field 15):
   • Cruising speed: Cruising speed in "N" for knots or "K" for km/h and four-digit number for True Air Speed (TAS), e.g. "N0100" (100 knots).
   • Level: Planned flight altitude, e.g. "F065" (Flight Level 65) or "A045" (4500 feet AMSL). For VFR flights, only "VFR" is entered here.
   • Route: Flight route based on defined waypoints such as VORs or IFR waypoints or IFR flight routes. A waypoint must be entered at least every 30 minutes or every 200NM. In addition, the location of the border crossing must be specified for international flights (with the time entered as "EET/" in field 18). Nowadays, the route is usually generated automatically by the various navigation apps.
9. Destination Aerodrome, Total EET, Alternate (field 16):
   • Destination Aerodrome: ICAO code of the destination airport, e.g. "EDDS" for Stuttgart. For aerodromes without an ICAO code, enter "ZZZZ" and then describe the destination aerodrome in field 18 after "DEST/"
   • Total EET: Estimated Elapsed Time (EET) in four digits in hours and minutes HHMM, e.g. "0100" (1 hour).
   • Alternate Aerodrome: Alternative airports if the destination aerodrome cannot be flown to (ICAO code)
10. Other Information (field 18):
    • Additional information. There are many things that can be entered here. Navigation apps also help here nowadays. Common entries are:
      • DOF/: Day of Flight, six digits YYMMDD e.g. 241221
      • RMK/CREW CONTACT: Mobile phone number of the pilot
      • RMK/LIC 2 TG: This is a training flight and 2 Touch and GOs are to be flown at the destination airport (or LA for Low Approach)
      • RMK/ASL: Specification of the airport slot if available
      • EET/: Estimated time to a certain point (e.g. crossing border)
      • PBN/: The Performance Based Navigation capabilities of the aircraft must be specified. Relevant for IFR flights. The navigation apps also help here
11. Additional information (field 19):
    • Endurance: Maximum flight duration in four digits in hours and minutes 
    • Persons on Board: Number of persons on board.
    • Emergency radio: Available emergency radio (cross out with "X" what is not available)
    • Survival equipment: Available emergency equipment
    • Jackets: Emergency equipment available
    • Dinghies: Existing emergency boats
    • Aircraft Colour: Colour of the aircraft
    • Remarks: Other remarks
    • Pilot-In-Command: Name of the pilot

Once the flight plan has been filed, the corresponding flight can be operated. If a delay of 30 minutes (for VFR) or 15 minutes (for IFR) is foreseeable, the flight plan should be postponed accordingly. If the plans change, the flight plan must be cancelled in case of doubt. Both can be done via the corresponding templates on the Internet, via the navigation apps or by telephone.

It is also important to close a flight plan. If you land at a controlled aerodrome with air traffic control, the flight plan is closed automatically. In all other cases, you must take care of closing it yourself. Some uncontrolled aerodromes offer this service, but you should enquire about this after landing. If in doubt, you should close the flight plan yourself. You can do this either via apps such as autorouter.aero or by calling the AIS centre. If you forget to do this, a search operation could be launched, which may incur costs.

Below are two examples of "typical" flight plans, one according to VFR and one according to IFR rules.

Example 1: Flight plan for a VFR flight

aeroplane: Cessna 172
Route: VFR flight from Frankfurt-Egelsbach (EDFE) to Mannheim City (EDFM).

Flight schedule:

• Aircraft Identification: D-ABCD
• Flight Rules: V
• Type of Flight: G
• Number and Type of Aircraft: leave blank /C172
• Wake Turbulence: L
• Equipment: SYBDGR /S
• Departure Aerodrome: EDFE
• Time of Departure: 1200
• Cruising Speed: N0090
• Level: VFR
• Route: EDFE VFR EDFM
• Destination Aerodrome: EDFM
• Total EET: 0030
• Alternate Aerodrome: EDDS
• Other information: DOF/240831 RMK/CREW CONTACT +4017....
• Endurance and Persons on Board: 0200/3

Example 2: Flight plan for an IFR flight

aeroplane: Cessna 172 
Route: IFR flight from Hamburg (EDDH) to Berlin Brandenburg (EDDB).

Flight schedule:

• Aircraft Identification: D-ABCD
• Flight Rules: I
• Type of Flight: G
• Number and Type of Aircraft: leave blank/C172
• Wake Turbulence: L
• Equipment: SYBDGR /S
• Departure Aerodrome: EDDH
• Time of Departure: 0800
• Cruising Speed: N0120
• Level: F080
• Route: EDDH NOLGO DCT N850 DCT TANGO EDDB
• Destination Aerodrome: EDDB
• Total EET: 0115
• Alternate Aerodrome: EDDC
• Other information: DOF/240831 RMK/CREW CONTACT +4017.... PBN/B2D2S1
• Endurance and Persons on Board: 0200/2

Conclusion

Submitting a flight plan may seem complex at first, but with an understanding of the individual fields and the right preparation, it becomes a routine task. Use modern tools such as apps or online platforms to make this process efficient and error-free.