ENR 1.10 FLIGHT PLANNING
(Restrictions, Limitations, and Advisory Information)
1. REQUIREMENT FOR THE SUBMISSION OF A FLIGHT PLAN
1.1 Procedures for the submission of a flight plan
1.1.1 Operators of all flights within the Damascus FIR are required to submit a flight plan.
1.1.2 Operators of local flights (i.e. flights remaining within the Damascus TMA or Damascus CTR) may satisfy the requirement by notifying the appropriate ATS unit of:
a) Aircraft call sign (and registration, if different);
b) Estimated Time of Departure (ETD) and brief details of the intended flight; and
c) Destination aerodrome.
1.2 Time of Submission
All flight plans shall be submitted in accordance with the ICAO format not more than 120 hours and at least 30 minutes prior to Estimated Off-Block Time (EOBT) or prior to entering the Damascus FIR, taking into account the requirements of ATS units in the airspace along the route for timely information processing.
1.3 Place and Method of Submission
a) Flight plans shall be submitted via the Air Traffic Services Reporting Office (ARO) at the departure aerodrome.
b) Flight plans may be submitted in person or transmitted via AFTN address: OSDIZPZX.
1.4 VFR Flight Plan for Alerting Service
Alerting service is, in principle, provided only to flights for which a flight plan has been submitted.
1.5 Content and Form of a Flight Plan
a) ICAO flight plan forms are available at AIS/ARO units within the Damascus FIR. Instructions for completing these forms shall be strictly followed.
b) Flight plans concerning IFR flights along published ATS routes do not need to include FIR-boundary estimates. Inclusion of FIR-boundary estimates is, however, required for off-route IFR flights and all international VFR flights.
c) When a flight plan is submitted in person or via AFTN, the sequence of items on the flight plan form shall be strictly followed up to and including Item 19. It shall include registration, aircraft type, and boundary estimates for all aircraft overflying Damascus FIR or landing at Syrian aerodromes.
1.5.1 Acceptance of a Flight Plan
The first ATS unit receiving a flight plan, or any change thereto, shall:
a) Check it for compliance with format and data conventions;
b) Check it for completeness and, to the extent possible, accuracy;
c) Take action, if necessary, to make it acceptable to the air traffic services; and
d) Indicate acceptance of the flight plan or change thereto to the originator.
1.6 Adherence to ATS Route Structure
No flight plans shall be filed for routes deviating from the published ATS route structure unless prior permission has been obtained from the appropriate ATC authority.
1.7 Authorization for Special Flights
Flights of a specific character (e.g., survey flights, scientific research flights) may be exempted from the route restrictions specified above.
Requests for exemption shall be submitted so as to be received at least one week prior to the intended day of operation to:
Postal Address:
General Authority of Civil Aviation - SYRIA
P. O. Box 6257
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
E-mail: info@gaca-sy.com
AFTN: OSDIYAYX / OSDIYAYF
2. OPERATION OF REPETITIVE FLIGHT PLANS (RPL)
Repetitive Flight Plans (RPLs) are NOT accepted. All operators are required to submit an individual full flight plan (FPL) for each flight in accordance with paragraph 1 above.
3. CHANGES TO SUBMITTED FLIGHT PLANS
3.1 Any change to a submitted flight plan for an IFR flight or a controlled VFR flight, and any significant change to a flight plan for an uncontrolled VFR flight, shall be reported as soon as possible to the appropriate ATS unit.
3.2 In the event of a departure delay of 30 minutes or more for a flight for which a flight plan has been submitted, the flight plan shall be amended, or canceled and replaced by a new flight plan. Standard ICAO delay (DLA), modification (CHG), and cancellation (CNL) messages shall be utilized.
Note: If a delay of a controlled flight is not reported, relevant flight plan data may no longer be available to the ATS unit when clearance is requested, resulting in additional delays.
3.3 Whenever a flight for which a flight plan has been submitted is canceled, the appropriate ATS unit shall be informed immediately.
3.4 In-flight changes to a current flight plan shall be requested/reported in accordance with ICAO Annex 2, Section 3.6.2 (Adherence to Flight Plan).
3.5 Arrival Report (Closing a Flight Plan)
An arrival report shall be submitted at the earliest possible moment after landing to the ATS unit at the arrival aerodrome, unless arrival acknowledgment has already been made by the local ATS unit.
In the event of a diversionary landing at an aerodrome without a local ATS unit, the pilot-in-command is responsible for transmitting the arrival report to the destination aerodrome ATS unit.
Arrival reports shall contain:
a) Aircraft identification;
b) Departure aerodrome;
c) Destination aerodrome;
d) Arrival aerodrome (in case of diversion); and
e) Time of arrival.
4. OPERATIONAL APPROVALS AND AUTHORIZATIONS
4.1 Flight Plan Item Requirements
4.1.1 Prior to departure, an operator shall ensure that:
a) Where the flight is intended to operate on a route or within airspace where a Navigation Specification (PBN/RNAV/RNP) is prescribed, the aircraft holds appropriate operational approval, and all conditions of that approval are satisfied;
b) Where operation within Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) airspace is planned, the required RVSM approval is held, and the letter "W" is inserted in Item 10 (Equipment) of the flight plan; and
c) The Official Overflight/Landing Permission Number is inserted in Item 18 (Other Information) for all non-scheduled flights intending to overfly Syrian airspace or land/depart at Syrian aerodromes. Any flight plan lacking a valid permission number will be rejected.