Section 2. Flight Plan Handling

1. FLIGHT PLAN RECORDING

1. Use the operational system to record and file flight plans, flight plan modifications, cancellations, activations, and closures for appropriate distribution and processing.
2. Locally approved procedures may be used to manually record flight plans prior to entry into the operational system during heavy traffic periods or system outages.
3. Record flight plans on the appropriate flight plan form or electronic equivalent.

1. Civilian flight plans consist of the information requested on FAA Form 7233-4 (or Form 7233-1 for stereo routes) or an electronic equivalent. For IFR flight plans, all items except Item 19 are transmitted to the ARTCC as part of the IFR flight plan proposal. Item 19 information is retained by the service that filed the flight plan and made available to ATC upon request.
2. Department of Defense (DoD)/military flight plans and civilian stereo route flight plans can still be filed using FAA Form 7233-1, or electronic equivalent.
3. Where FAA Form 7233-1, Flight Plan, and FAA Form 7233-4, International Flight Plan, are referenced, DoD use of the equivalent DoD forms 175 and 1801, respectively, is implied and acceptable.
4. Within U.S. controlled airspace, FAA Form 7233-1, Flight Plan, may be used by filers of DoD/military flight plans and civilian stereo route flight plans.
5. The international flight plan format is mandatory for:

1. Any flight plan filed, with the exception of DoD flight plans and civilian stereo route flight plans, which can still be filed using the format prescribed in FAA Form 7233-1, Flight Plan.

1. Any flight that will depart U.S. domestic airspace. For DoD flight plan purposes, offshore warning areas may use FAA Form 7233-1 or military equivalent.
2. Any flight requesting routing that requires performance based navigation.
3. Any flight requesting services that require filing of capabilities only supported in the international flight plan.

1. For flight plans with RNAV routes in domestic U.S. airspace, use FAA Form 7233-4, International Flight Plan, and use the following guidelines for pilots filing flight plans in domestic U.S. airspace if automatic assignment of any of the following RNAV routes are desired:

1. RNAV SID;
2. RNAV STAR; and/or
3. RNAV point‐to‐point.

1. Completion of all items or fields is not required in every case, and all items filed are not always transmitted. For example, flight plan data received from an operations office may be limited to only those items required for ATC or SAR purposes, provided the operations office obtains complete information on the flight.
2. Use authorized abbreviations where possible.
3. For domestic flights, accept flight plans regardless of departure point within the NAS.

1. Insert the originator of the flight plan into Item 18 of the FPL following the indicator ORGN/.
2. Forward complete VFR flight plan proposals to the tie-in facility/sector for the departure and destination points. A complete VFR flight plan for civilian flights includes FAA Form 7233-4 Item 19 Supplemental Information sent in a separate SPL message.

1. Accept military flight plan proposals, cancellations, and closures from any source.

1. Advise pilots, as appropriate, on the following:

1. Identify the tie‐in station for the departure point, and advise the pilot to report departure time directly to that facility.
2. When a departure report is unlikely because of inadequate communications capability, advise the pilot that the flight plan will be activated using the proposed departure time as the actual departure time. Include “ASMD DEP” in remarks. The pilot is responsible for closing, cancelling, or extending the flight plan if the flight is canceled or delayed.
3. Determine the flight plan area in which the destination is located. Request the pilot close the flight plan with the tie‐in facility. Provide the pilot the tie-in facility/sector contact information upon request.
4. Recommend that a separate flight plan be filed for each leg of a VFR flight.
5. Request the pilot inform FSS whenever the filed time en route changes more than 30 minutes.
6. On return flights from remote areas, such as a fishing site, establish a mutually acceptable date/time with the pilot for alerting SAR.
7. When a pilot files to an airport served by a part-time FSS and the ETA is during the period the facility is closed, ask the pilot to close with the associated FSS, identified in FAA Order JO 7350.9, Location Identifiers, and the Chart Supplement.
8. Upon request, inform pilots filing IFR flight plans of the appropriate and most effective means of obtaining IFR departure clearances.
9. When a pilot files a DVFR flight plan, advise the pilot to activate with an FSS. Also advise the pilot that a discrete beacon code will be assigned upon activation.

1. NOTIFYING ARTCC

1. Transmit flight plans and flight plan amendments to the ARTCC for the departure point.
2. Facilities should use FAA Order JO 7350.9, Location Identifiers, or the appropriate aeronautical charts to determine the ARTCC to which each transmission must be made.
3. Transmit flight plans (if necessary) and flight plan amendments via interphone to the flight data position (error referral position) or departure sector when the aircraft's proposed departure time is within the parameters listed in TBL 6-2-1.

1. Advise the ARTCC's departure sector or flight data position (error referral position), via interphone, when a message is received indicating ineligibility or a response is not received via data terminal within 10 minutes.
2. Flight plans are automatically deleted if no action is taken within the time limits listed in TBL 6-2-1. Transmit flight plans as follows:

1. When multiple (two or more) flight plans are received from the same aircraft, or for flight plans which propose alternating VFR and IFR, stopover, or terminal area delay, the station receiving the flight plans transmits separate flight plans to the appropriate ARTCCs for each IFR portion or segment.
2. Transmit flight plans specifying special use airspace delays (MOAs, warning areas, restricted areas, ATCAA) as in subparagraph 6-2-2e1 except when letters of agreement specify otherwise.
3. Aerial refueling delays, or any other en route delays not covered in subparagraphs 6-2-2e1 or 6-2-2e2 and not involving a change of altitude stratum, do not require separate messages. Delay information must be filed within the route of flight. If a change of altitude stratum is indicated, transmit separate messages as in subparagraphs 6-2-2e1 or 6-2-2e2.
4. When a composite, stopover, or terminal area delay flight plan is revised:

1. Before departure, transmit the information to the original addressees plus any new addressees.
2. After departure, transmit the information to all new addresses that are affected by the change.

1. Transmit flight plans when the ETD is less than 22 ½ hours of current time.
2. Address all IFR flight plan messages to the ARTCC serving the point of departure and all concerned oceanic and non-conterminous ATS units, except FAA ATCTs.

1. For flights inbound to the conterminous U.S. from Alaska or Hawaii, address only the first conterminous U.S. ARTCC (for example, for a proposed flight from Sitka to Houston, address PAZAZQZX, CZVRZQZX, and KZSEZQZX).

1. CONTROL MESSAGES

1. Transmit all proposed IFR flight plan messages to the ARTCC within whose control area IFR flight is proposed to begin.

1. Communications functions. Flight plan data messages must be addressed to the computer only. All other types of messages for ARTCC attention must be addressed to the Flight Data position only. Acknowledgements for all numbered messages will be received from the computer or the Flight Data position indicating receipt by the ARTCC but not necessarily computer acceptance. See TBL 6-2-2.

1. Adhere to a fixed order of data. Do not exceed the stated maximum number of characters or elements allowed for each field in messages addressed to an ARTCC computer. Flight plans filed containing more than the stated character maximums should be sent using the ARTCC flight data address.
2. For manual entry into Service B, one space character must be entered at the end of each data field. The first data field of a message need not be preceded by a space. The last data field of a message need not be followed by a space.
3. Each field of data is composed of one or more elements. Discrete elements of information within a field are separated by delimiters, generally slashes (/) or periods (ABC..DEF).
4. Messages addressed using an ARTCC flight data address (see TBL 6-2-2) are not processed by the ARTCC computer. Response and/or interpretation of these messages are dependent on flight data personnel action. The prime consideration of these types of messages must be the readability of the transmitted data.
5. All domestic flight data processing computers have the capability to return acknowledgments to the source and, depending on local adaption, return error messages and accept amendments. Notify the appropriate ARTCC Data Systems Specialist or Primary A position when it is suspected that a flight plan has been erroneously rejected by the computer.
6. IFR flight plans specifying stopovers or terminal area delays require separate messages be sent to the appropriate ARTCCs for each segment. Unless otherwise covered by a letter of agreement, treat flight plans proposing SUA delays in the same manner. Separate messages are also required for any other en route delays if a change of altitude stratum is proposed at the delay point. See subparagraph 6-2-3b14(h) for delays not involving a change of altitude stratum.
7. Some fields contain the necessary functions to operate the computer data terminal adapters and are designated by alpha characters (HIO..RAW-ER.V23.EUG/D0+30..16S). Do not separate these fields with spaces.

1. For en route automation system (EAS) flight data processing (FDP) acceptance, the complete message contents, the order of data, the number of characters allowed within any data field or element, and any associated operational procedures or restrictions are as follows (as used here, “field” refers to the EAS FDP field):

1. Start of message code (Field A). (New line key)
2. Preamble line (Field B). Consists of originator, priority, and addressee(s).
3. Originator line (Field C). Consists of a six‐digit date‐time group and the eight‐character originator identifier.
4. End of line function (Field E). Same as subparagraph 6-2-3b1.
5. Source identification (Field 00). Nine or ten characters required followed by a space character in the following order:

1. The three‐character address of the originating facility.
2. Four characters (digits) to indicate the time (in UTC) the flight plan was composed by the originator.
3. Three characters (digits) representing the number of the message (for example, 021). It is recommended that numbering systems be restarted with 001 at the beginning of each day (0000Z).

1. Message type (Field 01). The letters “FP” followed by a space character.
2. Aircraft identification (Field 02). Consists of two‐to‐seven alphanumeric characters followed by a space character. The first character of the identification must be a letter.

1. Phrases such as FLYNET, snow time, etc., which do not identify specific aircraft but are supplemental data defining a special mission or function, must be contained in remarks (Field 11).
2. For foreign aircraft flight identifications with a numeral as the first character, insert a Q as the first character and explain in the remarks section by listing the actual flight identification.

1. Aircraft data (Field 03). Consists of two‐to‐nine characters followed by a space character. Aircraft data within the field may vary from one‐to‐three elements consisting of:

1. Number of aircraft (when more than one) and/or the heavy aircraft indicator. For heavy aircraft the indicator is “H/.” This element contains a maximum of two characters followed by a slash.

1. Type of aircraft. Insert the standard aircraft type designator, in accordance with FAA Order JO 7360.1, Aircraft Type Designators.
2. Equipment suffix. This element consists of a slash (/) followed by one letter which is one of the approved designators identifying transponder and/or navigation gear.

1. Airspeed (Field 05). Consists of two‐to‐four characters followed by a space character. This field must indicate the filed true airspeed in knots or Mach number.

1. Departure point or coordination fix (Field 06). Consists of two‐to‐twelve characters followed by a space character. This field contains the departure point or fix at which an aircraft will pick up IFR. It must be a fix, not an airway. For proposed departures, it must match the first element in the route of flight; and for IFR pickups, it must match either the first element in the route of flight or the third element if the ./. or VFR is used as the second element.
2. Proposed departure time (Field 07). Consists of five or seven characters followed by a space character. This field contains the letter “P” followed by a four or six digit time group in UTC.
3. Requested altitude (Field 09). Consists of two‐to‐seven characters followed by a space character. Altitudes or flight levels, as appropriate, must be expressed in hundreds of feet but without leading zeros. The letters “OTP” must be entered in this field to indicate a requested altitude of VFR conditions‐on‐top. If a VFR conditions‐on‐top altitude is provided, it must be entered as “OTP/XXX where “XXX” is a VFR altitude. Blocked altitudes are indicated by entering the lower altitude of the requested block, the letter “B,” and the higher altitude of the block (for example, 80B100, 240B270, with no spaces).
4. End of line (new line key) (Field E). The first occurrence of Field E must always follow Field 09 of the message. Any time a subsequent end of line becomes necessary, if used within Field 10, it must be preceded by the appropriate element separator (not a space). If used within Field 11, Field E may be entered at any point within the remarks sequence.
5. Route of flight (Field 10). The route of flight consists of departure point or pickup point (PUP), the route of flight, and normally a destination followed by a space character.

1. Field 10 is a fixed sequence field and must begin with a fix (for example, fix, airway, fix, airway, etc.) The last element may be a fix or one of the route elements VFR, DVFR, or XXX (incomplete route indicator). An element is separated from another element by a period character.
2. When consecutive fix elements or route elements are filed, the fixed sequence format is maintained by inserting two period characters between the filed Field 10 elements (for example, fix..fix or airway..airway).
3. When a pilot files an airway..airway combination, obtain the point of transition and insert it in the transmitted flight plan (for example, SGF.J105..J24.STL.J24). The foregoing does not apply if the first encountered fix happens to be the next filed junction point within the route.

1. The slash character (/) is used to file a latitude/longitude fix or in describing an ETE.
2. The maximum number of filed field elements for computer‐addressed flight plans is 40. Double period insertions do not count against the 40‐element limitation. Transmit flight plans filed exceeding the route element limitation to the ARTCC, not its computer.
3. Fix Descriptions. A fix must be filed in one of the following ways:

1. Fix name. Domestic, Canadian, and International identifiers of two‐to‐five alphanumeric characters.
2. Fix‐radial‐distance (FRD). Consists of eight-to-eleven alphanumeric characters in the following sequence: Two‐to‐five characters identifying a NAVAID, three characters of azimuth expressed in degrees magnetic, and three characters of distance expressed in nautical miles from the NAVAID. Zeros preceding a significant character must be entered before the azimuth and distance components as required to assure the transmission of three characters for each.
3. Latitude/Longitude. Consists of nine‐to‐twelve characters entered as follows: The latitude must appear as the first component as four numbers (trailing zeros required) followed by an optional letter “N” or “S.” If the optional letter is omitted, north is understood. Latitude must be separated from longitude with a slash (/) element separator. Longitude must appear as the second component as four or five digits (trailing zeros required, leading zero optional) followed by an optional letter “W” or “E.” If the optional letter is omitted, west is understood.
4. NRS waypoints. NRS waypoints consist of five alphanumeric characters, which include the ICAO FIR identifier, followed by the letter corresponding to the FIR subset (ARTCC area for the CONUS), the latitude increment in single digit or group form, and the longitude increment.

1. Route descriptions. A route must be filed in one of the following ways:

1. Airway. The official airway designator must be filed.
2. Coded routes. Coded routes are a shorthand method of describing a route segment or segments which may have an altitude profile described, an adapted airspeed within the route, re‐entry or loop routes as an option, or a time delay at a fix within the route as an option. Some of the principal uses of coded routes are as follows:

1. Instrument departures (DP). DP, if used, must be filed by the computer code designator as the second element of Field 10 and be followed by the transition or exit fix.
2. STARs. STAR, if used, must be filed by the computer code designator as the next to last element of Field 10 and immediately follow the entry or transition fix.
3. Published radials. Published radials (for example, within a preferred route) are considered airways. Do not file unpublished radials.

1. Military routes. Certain military routes (for example, MTR and air refueling tracks/anchors), are considered coded routes. The route designator must be preceded and followed by the entry and exit fixes in terms of FRD, and re-entry information may be suffixed to certain military coded routes as follows:

1. The entry and exit fix must be associated with a fix on the route, and the entry fix must be prior to the exit fix on the route.

1. Routes having re‐entries for a single strategic training range (STR) site must contain the entry of alternate entry fix in terms of FRD, the route designator followed immediately by a plus sign (+), either the letter “R” (1st STR site) or “S” (2nd STR site), and a digit indicating the number of re‐entries.

1. Routes having re‐entries for two STR sites must contain the entry/alternate fix in terms of FRD, the route designator followed immediately by a plus sign (+), the letter “R,” and a digit indicating the number of re‐entries on the first STR site, immediately followed by second plus sign (+), the letter “S,” and a digit indicating the number of re‐entries on the second STR site.

1. STR routes must be entered and exited at the respective primary fix. Alternate STR routes must be entered/exited at the alternate entry/exit fix. The routes must be identified by an individual name.

1. North American routes (NAR). NAR routes are numerically coded over existing airways and route systems from and to specific coastal fixes serving the North Atlantic.

1. Stereo routes. A stereo route must specify a pre‐stored stereo tag. An “FP” message may be entered with a stereo tag as the only Field 10 entry, which causes the Field 10 data stored for the stereo tag to be substituted for the stereo tag and processed as the filed Field 10. Additionally, the filed departure point (Field 06) must agree with the stored departure point.
2. Incomplete route indicator (XXX). When XXX, the incomplete route indicator, appears in Field 10, the element preceding the XXX element must be a fix.
3. VFR or DVFR element. When VFR or DVFR is the second element of Field 10, the filed fix following VFR or DVFR must be internal to the ARTCC's area to whom the flight plan was initially submitted. When VFR or DVFR is other than the second element in Field 10, the element preceding the VFR or DVFR must be a filed fix.

1. Fix suffix.

1. En route delay suffix consists of an element separator (/), followed by the letter D, followed by the hours and minutes separated by a plus sign (+). Must be appended to a fix.

1. Use of this suffix is limited to the following cases:

1. Aerial refueling tracks and anchors. The suffix is appended to the entry fix.

1. En route delays not involving a change of altitude stratum and not involving a stopover, terminal area delay, or SUA delay unless specifically covered by a letter of agreement with the receiving ARTCC.

1. ETE suffix. Consists of an element separator (/) and four digits appended to the destination. Leading zeros are required, and the time en route is expressed in hours and minutes.

1. A period is not required after the last element of Field 10. If remarks (Field 11) are present, a space is required after the last element of Field 10. If remarks are not present, no space is required and Field F (end of message) should be the next entry.

1. Remarks (Field 11). Consists of the appropriate remarks code character and the remarks. Spaces are permitted within the remarks field to separate words or contractions. Remarks must be transmitted in Field 11 whenever a pilot files the information on the flight plan. A remark is required whenever there is a modification to the flight plan by the specialist.

1. If it is necessary to make modifications to the filed route of flight for the purpose of achieving computer acceptance of the input due to, for example, correcting a fix or an airway identification, “FRC” (meaning “full route clearance necessary”) must be added to Item 18. “FRC” must always be the first item following RMK/. When “FRC” appears on a flight progress strip, the controller issuing the ATC clearance to the aircraft must issue a full route clearance.

1. In the case of applicable military flights requesting that the flight plan is not passed to air defense radar (NOPAR), NOPAR must be the first item in Remarks (Field 11).
2. Remarks for military flight plans filing an IR route must contain the IR route designator, entry time prefaced by the letter “E,” exit time prefaced by the letter “X,” and MARSA when applicable. Remarks for flight plans filing a terminal area delay must contain the airport identifier at which the delay will occur, followed by the letter “D,” followed by the duration of the delay in hours plus minutes, followed by the destination airport. These should be the first item in Remarks (Field 11).
3. When a pilot files an FAA-assigned three‐letter company designator, if the designator and/or radiotelephony is new or changed, the authorized radiotelephony call sign must be included in the remarks field for at least 60 days following the effective date. In cases where there is no three‐letter identifier assignment or a three‐letter identifier is used in a medical emergency, the assigned radiotelephony must be included in the remarks field.

1. End of message function (Field F). Consists of enter function.

1. ADDITIONAL MESSAGES

The following messages are eligible for input to ARTCC computers via Service B, in addition to the flight plan (“FP”) message:

1. Remove strip (RS). The purpose of the RS message input is to advise the computer that data on a particular flight is no longer valid and in effect cancels the flight plan and removes it from computer storage.

1. Eligibility. RS messages may be entered only for flight plans which:

1. Are proposed flights.
2. Have been previously entered by the same source entering the RS message.
3. The flight plan is inactive (for example, a departure strip must not yet have been printed). Otherwise, the following rejection message is returned: “REJECT--NOT YOUR CONTROL.”

1. Format. Fields 01 (Message type) and 02 (aircraft identification) are required.

1. Amendment message (AM). The purpose of the AM message is to change data previously stored in the ARTCC computer.

1. Eligibility. Same as for the RS message (above).
2. Format. AM messages sent to the ARTCC computer must follow a specific format. First, the field to be amended must be identified, then the amended information given. The ARTCC computer recognizes the following fields by either number or name. See TBL 6-2-3:

1. Restrictions.

1. If Field 02 is to be amended, no other field may be amended in the same message. If Field 02 and other fields are to be amended, send an RS message and re-enter the entire corrected flight plan. If an attempt is made to amend Field 02 within a multiple amendment message or to amend Field 02 to M, the following rejection message is returned: “REJECT-INVALID AMENDMENT.”

1. Field 07 Amendments. An attempt to amend Field 07 to anything other than a P‐time is not allowed. If such an amendment is attempted, the following error message is returned: “COFIE INVALID TIME PREFIX.”
2. Amendment to Fields 06, 07, and 10: Where Fields 06, 07, and 10 are amended with a single AM message, the following rules apply:

1. The amended Field 06 replaces the previously stored coordination fix (Field 06).
2. The amended Field 07, with appropriate letter prefix, replaces the previously stored coordination time (Field 07).
3. The amended route data (Field 10) may completely replace the previously filed Field 10 or may be merged with the filed Field 10.
4. If the last element of the amended route data is followed by a destination indicator, this last element becomes the new destination fix.
5. When amended route data is merged with filed data, it replaces all data between the departure point and the first non-amended element remaining in the field. The last element of the amended data must match the first element of the remaining non-amended data, otherwise the following rejection message is returned: “REJECT--(last element) CANNOT MERGE.”

1. Amendment to Field 10 Only. Except as permitted above, a Field 10 amendment must be the only field amended; no other field may be amended with the same message. Otherwise, the following is returned: “REJECT-INVALID AMENDMENT.”

1. Correction message (CM). When the ARTCC computer detects an error in a flight plan, an error message is generated to the sender when the sender is within the departure ARTCC's adapted boundaries.

1. Eligibility. CM messages may be entered only for the period for which the departure ARTCC's program is adapted, normally five minutes. After that time, the flight plan in error drops out to the ARTCC Primary A position for re-entry. The sender has primary responsibility for corrective action.

1. Format. Responses to error messages must be transmitted in the form of a CM message within the time parameters adapted for your ARTCC.

1. When a CM message in response to an error message results in any change to a pilot‐filed Field 06 (Departure Point) or Field 10 (Route of Flight) once the flight plan has been accepted, an AM message must be sent to add a field 11 intra‐ARTCC remark. In remarks, insert “FRC PILOT FILED (original data).”
2. Should a “NOT YOUR CONTROL” response be received, do not retransmit the flight plan or the AM. Confirm ARTCC receipt of the flight plan or AM (FRC/REMARKS) via interphone with the Primary A position. See TBL 6-2-4.

1. COORDINATE RNAV ROUTES

1. When accepting flight plans containing coordinate RNAV routes, ensure that the route of flight after the departure fix is defined by latitude/longitude coordinates and a fix identifier.
2. The arrival fix must be identified by both the latitude/longitude coordinates and the fix identifier.

1. Departure airport.
2. Departure fix.
3. Intermediate fixes defined by latitude/longitude coordinates.
4. Arrival fix for the destination airport in terms of both the latitude/longitude coordinates and the fix identifier.
5. Destination airport.

1. FLIGHT PLAN ACTIVATION

1. If a departure report has not been received within a predetermined time, but not less than one hour after the proposed departure time, and specific arrangements have not been made to activate the flight plan, cancel and store in the history file.
2. The FSS history file is used for statistical and historical purposes. Movement messages, pilot briefings, and aircraft contacts are stored in the history files automatically and retained for 45 days.
3. When a pilot reports an actual departure time of more than two hours prior to the current clock time, request an updated ETE based on the aircraft's present position. Amend the ETE in the existing flight plan and activate the flight plan using the current time as the time of departure and inform the pilot of the new ETA.

1. DEPARTURE MESSAGES

1. When a pilot activates a flight plan or requests an assumed departure, transmit a departure message to the destination tie‐in facility as specified in FAA Order JO 7350.9, Location Identifiers.
2. When a pilot activates a flight plan with other than the facility holding the flight plan, transmit a departure message to the departure tie‐in facility.
3. When the proposed flight plan is received from another FSS or BASOPS, the departure facility will have only partial flight plan data. Add a remark indicating the Service B address of the facility holding the complete flight plan. Operational systems will automatically add this to the “Remarks” section of the flight plan.

1. If the pilot elects to close the flight plan with a facility other than the designated tie-in facility, send the departure message with remarks to both tie‐in facilities (for example, FIRIV PAEN [file arrival Kenai]). The designated tie-in facility must assume both destination and SAR responsibility.

1. On civilian flight plans, if the pilot advises of stopover points, show these in Item 18.

1. When using the format of FAA Form 7233-4 or DD Form 1801, in remarks use coded data pertinent to services, passengers, or cargo. In the absence of Item 18 entries, enter the number “0” (meaning none) in the remarks field.

1. Flight notification messages with remarks generate an alert at designated workstations.
2. When landing at a civilian airport, if there are no remarks with the flight notification message, it is placed on the Inbound List with no alerts for notification purposes.
3. When landing at a military airport, all flight notification messages generate an alert.

1. Address military stopover flight notification messages to and obtain acknowledgements from the destination tie‐in facility serving all destinations.

1. For the first leg, transmit the items in subparagraphs 6-2-7a and 6-2-7f.
2. For each subsequent leg, transmit the destination, ETE, and remarks applicable to that leg only, prior to (/). Remarks pertaining to the entire flight are entered in the “Remarks” section of the original flight plan and are transmitted to all addressees.
3. Separate stopover legs by inserting a slant (/) at the end of each leg except the last. Begin each leg on a new line.

1. For composite flights, specify type flight plan as the first item of each leg.
2. When en route delays are involved, include delay time in ETE.

1. Apply military flight plan procedures to all civilian aircraft landing at military bases.

1. Apply civilian flight plan procedures to civilian aircraft departing military bases and en route to civilian airports.

1. AWAITING MESSAGE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

1. Following transmission, suspend the following message types until acknowledgment is received from the addressee, then store in the history file:

1. FPL Flight Plan
2. SPL Supplemental
3. DEP Departure
4. CNL Cancellation
5. MOD Modification

1. If an acknowledgment is not received within the following time period, use the telephone or interphone to assure delivery.

1. Thirty minutes after departure if ETE is between 30 minutes and two hours.
2. One hour before ETA if ETE is two hours or more.
3. Thirty minutes after departure if remaining overnight/VIP information is contained in remarks of a military flight notification.

1. When an acknowledgment for a message is required and has not been received in accordance with the procedure described above, retransmit the complete message to the addressee.
2. Messages awaiting acknowledgment are suspended on the suspense list. It contains a list of all numbered Service B messages and those messages transmitted from the flight plan mask not acknowledged by all the addressees.

1. The message identification is the aircraft identification for flight notifications and/or the message number for all other message types.
2. Acknowledgments received via NADIN will be automatically processed if they are in the proper format.
3. Improperly formatted acknowledgments will be directed to a list for manual processing and will generate an alert at designated workstations for editing.
4. The suspense list will display the aircraft identification and message numbers in chronological order of transmission times and the addressees for each message with an indication of those that have not acknowledged.
5. If a transmission has not been acknowledged by all addressees within 30 minutes, an alert will be generated by the operational system.
6. Upon receipt of a suspense alert, retransmit the message to addressees who have not acknowledged the message.
7. When an acknowledgment message is received from any other source, such as interphone/ telephone or facility guarding for the addressee, the specialist must manually acknowledge the message.

1. ACKNOWLEDGING FLIGHT NOTIFICATION MESSAGES

Acknowledge a flight notification message as soon as practicable after receipt. Message acknowledgement formats are contained in Appendix D, Service B Message Formats.

1. ACTION BY ADDRESSEES

In addition to acknowledging receipt of flight notification, addressees must take the following actions:

1. Military IFR flights.

1. Notify BASOPS, if applicable, of the inbound flight.
2. Upon request, deliver flight plan amendments to the ARTCC.
3. File the flight notification message in the operational system history files or with the daily traffic.
4. Forward the actual departure time to the destination tie-in facility for the next destination.

1. Military VFR flights.

1. Notify BASOPS, if applicable, of the inbound flight.
2. Suspense the message, await closure/cancellation/departure and assume destination station responsibility.
3. Forward the departure time to the destination tie‐in facility and assume departure station responsibility.
4. All flight notification messages are suspended on the Inbound List. An entry on the list will remain there until the flight plan is closed. Thirty minutes after the ETA, if the flight plan has not been closed, it is considered overdue and will generate an alert at designated workstations.

1. If no information is received (for example, departure time, revised ETA) indicating that the flight is still active prior to the void time, close the flight plan and note this on the flight notification message and file.

1. MAJOR FLIGHT PLAN CHANGES FROM EN ROUTE AIRCRAFT

1. Change of destination.

1. When a civil aircraft on a VFR flight plan or a military aircraft on any flight plan changes destination, obtain and record, as a minimum, the following information if not already known:

1. Type of flight plan.
2. Aircraft identification.
3. Aircraft type.
4. Departure point.
5. New destination.
6. New ETA.
7. Present position.
8. Old destination.
9. Estimated time en route.

1. Transmit a revised flight notification message to the departure, original, and new destination tie-in facilities containing the type of flight, aircraft identification, aircraft type, departure point, new destination, new ETA, and in Remarks, aircraft position and time, the words “ORIG DESTN” followed by the identifier of the original destination.

1. Change from IFR to VFR. When a civilian aircraft changes from an IFR to a VFR flight plan, obtain all flight plan information and send appropriate flight plan messages, including a SPL message.
2. Military Change from IFR to VFR or VFR to IFR. When a military aircraft changes from IFR to VFR, or VFR to IFR, or requests that other significant information be forwarded, transmit this information to the destination station.

1. CHANGE IN ETA

When an aircraft wants to change its ETE, obtain a new ETA, and using appropriate messaging procedures, notify the destination tie‐in facility of the new ETA. The destination tie‐in facility must acknowledge and, thereafter, use the new ETA as the standard for any necessary follow-up action (for example, a QALQ message).

1. FLIGHT PLAN CLOSURE

1. When closing a VFR flight plan, obtain departure point and destination, if not already known.

1. Do not transmit arrival reports except under unusual circumstances or in the following cases:

1. Transmit arrival or other information involving FAA or Canadian MOT aircraft by a numbered message to any facility requested by the pilot.

1. For U.S. military aircraft, transmit arrival reports to the departure station only when:

1. Requested by BASOPS.
2. Special military flights arrive.

1. When a pilot closes a flight plan with a station that has not received a flight notification message, obtain as a minimum, the departure point, the flight planned destination point, and the station with which the flight plan was filed.

1. If the station receiving the closure is the tie-in station for the planned destination, transmit the appropriate message to the departure station with the remark “FPNO” (flight plan not received) and the departure point and destination identifiers. The departure station must relay the arrival information to the station holding the flight plan notification message in the active file.
2. If the station receiving the closure message is not the destination tie‐in station, transmit the appropriate closure message to the destination tie‐in station.