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Are there any mandatory VFR routes OCAS?

I mean outside of

  • CAS, and
  • military areas
  • other “prohibited” airspace

i.e. in plain old Class E F or G.

This area was referenced in a recent post here

The above is from the 1:1M IGN chart which originates from here (the owner of that site died recently so it won’t be up for long, probably). I must confess I cannot work out the vertical extents of the various parts – the map is just too confusing. I have flown through there both VFR and (mostly) IFR and found that VFR transits are allowed on tracks of one’s own choice and if they don’t like it they tell you to change heading a bit.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I am not sure about “mandatory”.

The recommended VFR routes come to mind between I of W and the CIs, across to Waterford, through the Alps and isnt there something between Lands End and the Scillies – there is a VFR route between Trinidad and Tobago further afield and some in America I can think of, and then back home through the Manchester zone – quite what recommended means and by who I am aslo not sure.

Good interesting question.

I flew that route along the southern coast of France. It is a preferred VFR route, but that does not say you cannot fly anywhere else.

EDLE, Netherlands

In Greece, there are vfr routes and in Kroatiƫ too. But nog sure how mandatory they are.

Vie
EBAW/EBZW

In Greece they are not mandatory in class E+ (TMAs), but they are in class D (CTRs). In either case according to AIP any deviation must be requested from the ATC. There are some routes OCA but they are not mandatory.

LGMT (Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece), Greece

The basic point is that it is completely meaningless to have “mandatory” routes in airspace classes E F G

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Pointless or not, they do exist. Best example are the VFR routes between mainland Italy/France and Corsica. They exist and they are clearly published in the AIP, so what class of airspace they are in becomes a moot point, under practical aspects. Also because you can negotiate deviations from that in flight.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

There are definitely VFR routes, “mandatory” in the AIP, but definitely OCAS?

Would any of the ones in the image in Post 1 be in that category?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter,

the Nice TMA and surrounddings is a compplicated bit of airspace. In order to discuss particular items, you would have to to study the chart well, including its legend (showing which of the routes are mandatory with / without radio contact / recommended), and including what’s written in AIP ENR 1.2, etc.

But yes, there clearly are mandatory bits which are OCAS. STP – LERMA is in an area where the class D TMA starts at 1500 feet MSL. Still, the route is mandatory, no matter what altitude. It’s a bit of a mess. Just accept it. Don’t get mad over the CAS / OCAS distinction. That area is full of bits of controlled airspace and full of restricted areas. With these routes, they want to make sure people stay away from IFR routes and restricted airspace. If you have any special requests, do ask ATC. But at the planning stage, certain routes are binding.

It’s a similar situation with the coastal routes of Croatia by the way. As we know, the Croatian coast has airspace Delta everywhere above 1000 feet. So these routes do usually become mandatory to a certain degree. Pilots going VFR to Croatia for the first time often are puzzled by the fact that they receive an enroute clearance from ATC and then say that it is “like flying IFR” (which obviously is the totally wrong explanation), which shows that they never looked closely at the airspace structure of that country.

Last Edited by boscomantico at 28 Nov 08:30
Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Portugal has VFR routes at least partly OCAS, as well. Portuguese friends told me, ATC can do nothing if you don’t obey, as long as you’re in G. However, when we flew one last summer, ATC (Lisboa Information IIRC) clearly expected us to follow the routes.

EDFM (Mannheim), Germany
24 Posts
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