Correct but let’s not forget that each country can impose certain limitations and alterations to these generic rules, eg VFR routes and altitudes.
Having read that ICAO paragraph several times, its clear to me that the takeoff clearance from a Class D airport is exactly the clearance required for a VFR departure entering the Class D airspace, and with no formal separation required between the departing VFR flight and other flights, there is no requirement for the departing flight to follow a precise route to exit the Class D. The ATC information function provided to the other flights can be simply ‘your traffic is a Cessna departing northbound’
BTW when did this weird, malformed ‘in respect of’ syntax come into prominence? ‘With respect to’ seems to work fine for me, but I guess I’m not a Euro politician or bureaucrat 
Let’s not forget that "air traffic control service " contains
- traffic separation
and
- traffic information
Also in my opinion you need ATC clearance to operate (enter, transit etc) all airspaces A-D.
ICAO says:
Class D. IFR and VFR flights are permitted and all flights are provided with air traffic control service, IFR flights are separated from other IFR flights and receive traffic information in respect of VFR flights, VFR flights receive traffic information in respect of all other flights.
Long Beach is an example. You don’t request a VFR clearance but you do have to call C/D and state that you are “VFR from RUNWAY with ATIS”. They just say, contact ground. If you don’t tell them you have atis they will make you get it.
Very interesting and a first for me
Thanks and sorry for the slight tangent.
At a US Class D airport I’ve never heard either Clearance Delivery or Ground being used to request ATC clearance for a VFR departure
Long Beach is an example. You don’t request a VFR clearance but you do have to call C/D and state that you are “VFR from RUNWAY with ATIS”. They just say, contact ground. If you don’t tell them you have atis they will make you get it.
in the USA is that you can often request VFR flight following from clearance delivery freq on the ground before departure
Neat trick I’ve never called Clearance Delivery on the ground to initiate VFR Flight Following although I guess I’ve heard it being done by others. Seems like a nice setup because you don’t have to guess at the en route frequency by looking at the chart, or fuss with the transponder code after takeoff. One push of the comm radio flip-flop after take-off and you’re done. I don’t often use Flight Following but maybe I’ll try that next time.
This is how I’d do it at a US class C/D airport and a UK Class D airport.
At a US Class D airport I’ve never heard either Clearance Delivery or Ground being used to request ATC clearance for a VFR departure, with the exception of the rather unique Puerto Rico example cited above in which you apparently can’t leave the Class D airport without entering another airport’s Class C. Normally at a US Class D tower controlled airport you’d listen to ATIS, then taxi without radio contact from your parking to the controlled taxiway, then call ground for taxi clearance to the end of the runway, then switch to tower for takeoff clearance and go.
IF only EASAland could be like FAALand!
It’d be awfully boring if all places were the same in every regard, but the interesting issue to me is whether there is a technical reason (for instance low radar coverage), regulatory reason (increased traffic separation requirements perhaps) or legal reason (inexplicable police requirement to record aircraft comings and goings in a little notebook 
) that airports in EASA-land can’t operate in ways which are long proven to reduce hassle and vastly increase airport capacity.
If they have a clearance / delivery freq, I’d just call them up and tell them “Commander XYZ with Juliet VFR from 25 left” or something. If they want to give you a clearance they will. They may just say “contact ground”. If no C/D freq probably do the same on Ground. Again if they want to clear you to do anything they will tell you. This is how I’d do it at a US class C/D airport and a UK Class D airport.
Types of VFR clearances I have received have been: After departure, left turn 070 degrees, departure freq 123.45, squwark 1234. On contacting Departure they may issue a further clearance, something like “resume own navigation”…..or “right turn direct ”…“report clearing the zone to the north not above 2000”….etc…
Note: One thing I found out fairly recently in the USA is that you can often request VFR flight following from clearance delivery freq on the ground before departure. They will issue a txpdr code and departure frequency, and after departure you get handed off to departure for the flight following.
IF only EASAland could be like FAALand!
It sounds easier to me to trailer the thing out of there than depart some of the airports described.
Indeed! I really think that if they wouldn’t pay me to do it, I would have stopped flying a long time ago.
try TJIG. Class D controlled airport, you have to get departure clearances for specific routes through TJSJ airspace.
Its interesting to look at specific airspace structure, and learn how its handled. At those two airports in San Juan, Puerto Rico it appears that despite having Class D airspace to the west, the east end of the TJIG airport property is within the surface area Class C associated with TJSJ airport. So its not surprising that you need a Class C style pre-planned clearance to depart VFR in that direction, or fly through that Class C airspace on arrival. It would surprise me to learn however that anything special would be required if, winds allowing, you depart VFR to the west without penetrating Class C.
Sorry to digress but my only procedure at Leeds is to cope with the always massive xwind!
The only closed 27/09 less than 10 years ago. What were they thinking?
