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.
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