Section 18. North American Route Program

  1. PURPOSE

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

  1. RESPONSIBILITIES
  1. The ATCSCC must:
  1. Have the authority to suspend and/or modify NRP operations for specific geographical areas or airports. 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.
  1. ARTCC TMUs must:
  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 before implementing any reroute to NRP flights beyond 200 NM from point of departure or destination.
  3. Monitor activity to identify potential sector/airport constraint that may impact DP/STAR operations and coordinate with the ATCSCC for problem resolution.
  1. DP/STAR procedures for the ARTCCs are authorized the following exemptions:
  1. NRP flights will be allowed to file and fly any published transitions of the DPs and/or STARs. Not all of the published transitions may be available, due to facility procedural constraints.
  2. In the case of radar vector DPs the ARTCC will clear the NRP flight to the first en-route NAVAID/fix/waypoint of the flight plan as soon as practical.
  3. When problems are identified involving the use of the DP/STAR transitions, immediately notify the ATCSCC for resolution.
  1. Customer flight plan filing requirements are authorized the following exemptions:
  1. Customers may file and fly any published transition of the DPs and/or STARs, regardless of the mileage from the airport to transition end point.
  2. Customers should not file DP/STAR transitions in offshore transition areas (12 NM or more off the United States shoreline)
  1. PROCEDURES
  1. “NRP" must 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.
  2. Traffic management specialists must 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.
  3. The en route facility within which an international flight entering the conterminous United States requests to participate in the NRP must enter “NRP" in the remarks section of the flight plan.
  1. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Reports of unusual or unsatisfactory events attributable to NRP traffic should be forwarded to the System Operations ATCSCC TCA via facsimile at (540) 422-4196 or telephone at (540) 359-3146. Reports must 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.

  1. USER REQUIREMENTS
  1. International operators filing through the Canadian airspace to destinations within the conterminous United States must file an inland navigational fix within 30 NM north of the common Canada/United States airspace geographical boundary to be eligible to participate in the NRP.
  2. Flights must be filed and flown via any published DP or 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 or destination. If the procedures above do not extend to 200 NM, published airways may be used for the remainder of the 200 NM. If the procedures above do not exist, published airways may be used for the entire 200 NM.
  3. Operators that file a flight plan which conforms to a published preferred IFR route must not enter “NRP" in the remarks section of that flight plan.
  4. Operators must 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 must be defined.
  5. Operators must 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.
  6. Operators must ensure that “NRP" is entered in the remarks section of the flight plan for each flight participating in the NRP program.