Menu Sign In Contact FAQ
Banner
Welcome to our forums

List of country specific VFR rules

With SERA now being introduced throughout EASA land, I’ve heard some pilots think we are now truly aligned across Europe.
I wondered if we could assemble a list of unusual rules and quirks of operation that remain country specific, especially those that should be consigned to the dustbin.

This would be for VFR, not IFR, and focus on the flying/pilot element rather than maintenance/airfield stuff. EASA rather than national licences.
(Someone did say there was a lack of VFR stuff on here )

My starter from the UK, stuff I’d like to see phased out…

  • Regional Pressure Settings
  • QFE for landings
  • MATZ
  • Basic, Traffic, Deconfliction, Procedural Services
  • Ludicrously low transition altitude of 3000 feet
  • Multiple radio/radar service providers for the same geographic area
  • Lack of radar displays at many airports (due to cost)

Divided opinion on whether good or bad

  • Overhead joins

… and some good stuff

  • Charity flights (valid for anything you can take a passenger for, as long as you warn them of potential risk)
  • Listening Squawks
  • Cost sharing (can be up to 99% paid by pax; can advertise spare seats with some restrictions)
  • Instructor can sign off biennual renewal on licence
FlyerDavidUK, PPL & IR Instructor
EGBJ, United Kingdom

DavidC wrote:

Ludicrously low transition altitude of 3000 feet

This is already planned to be 18000 feet in 2017 according to this.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

Spain:
- flight plan mandatory for any flight in CAS (which means pretty much any flight, unless a local one from some remote small airfield)
- variable transition altitude (depending on the sector)

Portugal:
- FIR crossing at designated points (intersections) only

Morocco:
- no ‘free’ flight, mandatory VFR routes
- no overflight of cities that have a royal palace (e.g. Fez, Marrakesh, etc)

Germany:
- Airport opening hours and prohibition to land outside these hours

Austria:
- Airport opening hours and prohibition to land outside these hours

- flight plan mandatory for any flight in CAS (which means pretty much any flight, unless a local one from some remote small airfield)

Isn’t that the default position under SERA?
It’s the same in Ireland, but once you’re used to it, it’s no hassle at all. Less than 15 seconds work.

We have it pretty good here in Ireland, now that we’re allowed to do night VFR flight (not that I’ve gotten to do any since the rule change). The only thing I’d ask to be changed here is to endure the Dublin ATC gave better access to VFR flights to controlled airspace. But I have to admit that they are improving too, and access isn’t a probably anywhere else in Ireland.

EIWT Weston, Ireland

dublinpilot wrote:

Isn’t that the default position under SERA?

It is. But by “flight plan” many people mean a full filed flight plan according to the ICAO form. In SERA it is used in a more general sense: “The term ‘flight plan’ is used to mean variously, full information on all items comprised in the flight plan description, covering the whole route of a flight, or limited information required, inter alia, when the purpose is to obtain a clearance for a minor portion of a flight such as to cross an airway, to take off from, or to land at a controlled aerodrome.”

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

This is the actual EASA rule for airborne filling (AFIL) when it comes to ATC services:
“A flight plan for any flight planned to operate across international borders or to be provided with air traffic control
service or air traffic advisory service shall be submitted at least sixty minutes before departure, or, if submitted during
flight, at a time which will ensure its receipt by the appropriate air traffic services unit at least ten minutes before the
aircraft is estimated to reach:
(1) the intended point of entry into a control area or advisory area; or
(2) the point of crossing an airway or advisory route” [Commission Regulation 923/2012]

As far as I can see there is no way to get around that for any country and a regulation (other than a directive) becomes immediately enforceable law in all member states and does not depend on any national implementation at all.

Fly for your dreams
LOAV

Netherlands.
- No Night VFR unless you hold a special permit (which is only issued to S&R helicopters and such); You can train for a Night VFR rating under some specific rules, but only as part of a modular/integrated course for an IR.
- VFR in/through controlled airspace (class C & up, which includes all civil CTRs) requires a submitted, written flight plan (cannot be filed over the radio)
- Due to workload Dutch Mil INFO is generally not able to provide any meaningful service at all. Best is not to contact them at all, but just monitor the frequency.
- Due to the large Schiphol TMA, covering about 1/5th of the land mass of the Netherlands and being class A, you cannot fly VFR above 1500’ there. Recommendation is to actually remain below 1200’ due to wake turbulence. And monitor Amsterdam Info in case they need to contact you.
- There are some specific, but highly sensible rules for flying in the NSAA (North Sea Area Amsterdam – basically the ‘wet’ portion of the Netherlands FIR).
- Mode-S transponders are essentially required; All radar installation are mode-S capable. If you only have mode A/C you are supposed to switch the transponder off and remain below 1200’.
- The Netherlands is a relatively quick adopter of the 8.33 kHz frequency spacing. At the moment Eindhoven is already on 8.33, with more airfields to follow later this year, or early next year.

- No Night VFR unless you hold a special permit (which is only issued to S&R helicopters and such); You can train for a Night VFR rating under some specific rules, but only as part of a modular/integrated course for an IR.

I got NVFR as a standalone qualification at EHLE this year.

- VFR in/through controlled airspace (class C & up, which includes all civil CTRs) requires a submitted, written flight plan (cannot be filed over the radio)

You can always ask for a crossing clearance on the radio even if you are not on an FPL. They will send you away if they are busy but EHAM will do it anyways even if they have your FPL ready when they are overloaded.

EHLE
67 Posts
Sign in to add your message

Back to Top