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How do IFR controllers see your Eurocontrol filed route?

Do they see the textual representation, or do they see a picture?

In the former case, waypoints like SFD180009 would be cryptic, and lat/long ones even more so.

Yet, these can be handy for hacks to e.g. get back into the UK from N France, now that France has implemented a MAX DCT of 10nm...

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

They see a text flight plan. They know their airspace by heart and work with the FIR/country border points and optimize within that.

If you feed them SFD180009, they will most likely ignore that. In countries where you can do DCTs, the ATCOs will send you direct anyway as far as possible. One could therefore just not bother but I still try to file the shortest route possible (without VOR tricks like yours) because if they decide to send me on a longer routing, I can complain and say minimum fuel.

I still try to file the shortest route possible (without VOR tricks like yours)

The shortest "validated" route possible could be another 50nm...

because if they decide to send me on a longer routing, I can complain and say minimum fuel.

That cannot possibly be right.

Also there is AFAIK no such thing as "minimum fuel" terminology in Europe. If you are below your reserve figure you must declare a Mayday. There is no halfway.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

That cannot possibly be right.

Of course it is. I file a route and that one works out well with my reserve fuel. ATC give me a longer routing and my fuel planning no longer works. This is what a "minimum fuel" is for. Remember the "scandal" with Ryanair that would declare "minimum fuel" to get more direct routes and approaches without holding?

Some explanations regarding minimum fuel

That's interesting - thanks. I didn't know that was a recognised expression.

However, on page 1:

When the pilot makes use of this expression, it does not benefit from priority over the rest of the traffic

which makes me wonder why (or if) Ryanair were getting anything out of it.

But that is a tangent. It is "Eurocontrol legitimate" to file a route with waypoints specified using any of the permitted notations. The Q is what can ATC see? Would their system really present it textually and having filtered out all waypoint names except the navaids and the 5-letter intersections? It would seem bizzare. In a textual presentation I would expect the whole filed route to be presented.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

That's interesting - thanks. I didn't know that was a recognised expression.

Indeed, threatening to declare minimum fuel is a common practice to get some extra help in getting on the ground. Even though you don't get priority formally, in practice they realise that there is usually a small distance from min fuel to declaring a fuel emergency.

EGTK Oxford
7 Posts
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