Section 5. Stored Flight Plan Program

6-5-1. CRITERIA

The following criteria must be used in coordinating and implementing the stored flight plan program. The term air carrier, as used below, includes scheduled air taxi operators meeting the criteria for this program.

a. Each air carrier will provide the appropriate ARTCCs with a specific contact for coordination of this program.

b. The individual air carrier is responsible for providing the ARTCC the following:

1. Current flight plan schedule data at least 7 days prior to the effective date of the scheduled change.

(a) Changes to become effective between the 15th and the last day of the month must be received by the facility no later than the 8th day of the month.

(b) Changes to become effective between the 1st and the 14th of the month must be received by the facility no later than the 23rd of the month.

2. Permanent cancellations to flight plans currently stored will be accepted on a day-to-day basis.

3.  When submitting revised listings, permanent cancellations, and additions, all changes must be clearly indicated.

(a) Additions to the current listings must be noted as such by placing the word ADD preceding item G(4) of the format and outside the normal left-hand margin.

(b) Deletions from the current listings should be noted by adding the contraction DLT preceding item G(4) of the format and outside the normal left-hand margin.

(c) Changes, such as departure time, altitude, equipment, and route of flight should be indicated by adding the contraction CHG preceding item G(4) of the format and outside the normal left-hand margin with the change underlined.

(d) Subsequent listings will not include the added, deleted, or changed information.

c. Each air carrier is responsible for providing day-to-day modifications to computer-stored flight plans to the appropriate ARTCC or terminal facility control positions no more than 30 minutes prior to the stored proposed departure time. The following procedures apply:

1. The ARTCC/ATCT facilities will provide the airline officials with the controller position phone number for modification of the stored flight plan. This procedure only affects the flight for this particular day and is not intended to be a modification to the permanent stored flight plan.

2. Changes to the flight plan, other than the identification, considered to fall in this category are change in the type of aircraft, DME or transponder equipment, altitude, route of flight, or cancellation.

3. If the proposed departure time is changed by less than 1 hour, there is no requirement for it to be forwarded to the ARTCC.

4. If the trip number is changed, a new flight plan must be filed at least 40 minutes prior to the proposed departure time.

5. Day-to-day modifications to computer-stored flight plans destined for Newark, LaGuardia, or Kennedy Airports must be accepted up to 1 hour and 30 minutes prior to stored proposed departure time. If the proposed departure time of flights for these three airports is changed by 30 minutes or more, the center should be advised.

d. Flights scheduled at least 1 day each week may be submitted to the ARTCC for the stored flight plan program.

e. Only these flight plans involving a reasonable amount of stability in the flight planned routes will be accepted in the program. The initial minimum stability factor is 85 percent.

f. Flight plan data must be submitted in chronological order by airports of departure and in the format outlined in the following example:

NOTE-
The number above each item is explained in detail by the coinciding numbers listed below the Example.

g. Each airline is responsible for developing procedures to preclude any misunderstanding between controller and pilot in the event of changes to the stored flight plan. If the airline has a requirement for the controller to issue a complete clearance for a period of time after the effective date of a stored flight plan, the airline will alert its pilots not to accept “cleared as filed” and add the following information to remarks after the route of flight data forwarded to the ARTCC: FULL RTE CLRNC TIL, PAREN DATE PAREN.

EXAMPLE-
(See FIG 6-5-1.)
 

6-5-2. IMPLEMENTATION AND COORDINATION

Each ARTCC must provide the airline with a contact for implementing and coordinating this program.

6-5-3. PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE OF BULK STORE FILE

Each ARTCC must prepare and maintain card decks, magnetic tapes, and discs necessary for computer processing of the data provided by the airlines.

6-5-4. REMARKS DATA

ARTCC controllers must not use “cleared as filed” until after the date specified in the remarks portion of the stored flight plan. (See subpara 6-5-1g.) The remarks data may be removed from the stored flight plan after the date specified.

FIG 6-5-1
Stored Flight Plan Program