Section 15. North American Route Program

17-15-1. PURPOSE

The North American Route Program (NRP) provides the users of the NAS greater flexibility in flight plan filing at or above 29,000 feet (FL290).

17-15-2. RESPONSIBILITIES

a. The David J. Hurley Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) shall:

1. Have the authority to suspend and/or modify NRP operations for specific geographical areas or airport(s). Suspensions may be implemented for severe weather reroutes, special events, or as traffic/equipment conditions warrant.

2. Conduct special user teleconferences and transmit ATCSCC advisories whenever a provision of the NRP will not be available to the user community for more than one hour.

3. Be the final approving authority for all TM initiated restrictions to NRP flights outside of 200 NM from point of departure or destination.

b. ARTCC TMUs shall:

1. Avoid issuing route and/or altitude changes for aircraft which display the remarks “NRP” except when due to strategic, meteorological or other dynamic conditions.

2. Coordinate with ATCSCC prior to imple-menting any restriction to NRP flights beyond 200 NM from point of departure or destination.

17-15-3. PROCEDURES

a. Continually monitor sector activity and utilize available resources to identify potential sector or airport overloads. Where appropriate, the traffic management specialists, supervisors, air traffic control specialists, and the ATCSCC shall implement coordinated activities to ensure traffic flows are consistent with the ability of a functional position or airport to provide efficient air traffic services.

b. “NRP” shall be retained in the remarks section of the flight plan if the aircraft is moved due to weather, traffic, or other tactical reasons. In these situations, every effort will be made to ensure the aircraft is returned to the original filed flight plan/altitude as soon as conditions warrant.

c. Traffic management specialists shall not enter “NRP” in the remarks section of a flight plan unless prior coordination concerning this particular flight is accomplished with the ATCSCC or as prescribed by international NRP flight operations procedures.

d. The en route facility within which an international flight entering the conterminous United States requests to participate in the NRP shall enter “NRP” in the remarks section of the flight plan.

17-15-4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Reports of unusual or unsatisfactory events attributable to NRP traffic should be forwarded to the System Operations ATCSCC via facsimile at (703) 904-4459 or telephone at (703) 708-5106. Reports shall include, at a minimum: aircraft call sign, type, altitude, route of flight, affected sectors, brief description of event, description of impact, and any actions taken.

17-15-5. USER REQUIREMENTS

a. International operators filing through Canadian airspace, at or east of Sault St. Marie (SSM), to destinations within the conterminous United States will be required to file over one of the following inland fixes to be eligible to participate in the NRP: SSM, TAFFY, EBONY, ALLEX, BRADD, TOPPS, TUSKY, YXU, and QUBIS.

b. International operators filing through Canadian airspace, west of SSM, to destinations within the conterminous United States may utilize any inland navigational fix west of SSM within 30 NM north of the common Canada/United States airspace geographical boundary to be eligible to participate in the NRP.

c. Flights shall be filed and flown via any standard instrument departure (SID) procedure, standard terminal arrival route (STAR) for the departure/arrival airport respectively, or published preferred IFR routes, for at least that portion of flight which is within 200 NM from the point of departure (egress) or destination (ingress). If the procedure(s) above do not extend to 200 NM, published airways may be used for the remainder of the 200 NM. If procedure(s) above do not exist, published airways may be used for the entire 200 NM.

d. Operators that file a flight plan which conforms to a published preferred IFR route shall not enter “NRP” in the remarks section of that flight plan.

e. Operators shall ensure that the route of flight contains no less than one waypoint, in the FRD format, or NAVAID, per each ARTCC that a direct route segment traverses and these waypoints or NAVAIDs must be located within 200 NM of the preceding ARTCC's boundary. Additional route description fixes for each turning point in the route shall be defined.

f. Operators shall ensure that the route of flight avoids active restricted areas and prohibited areas by at least 3 NM unless permission has been obtained from the using agency to operate in that airspace and the appropriate air traffic control facility is advised.

g. Operators shall ensure that “NRP” is entered in the remarks section of the flight plan for each flight participating in the NRP program.