Picking up IFR clearance by phone

Czechia requires Z-flights from uncontrolled aerodromes to coordinate the departure with Prague FIC by phone (AIP ENR 1.1.1.3.1 (c)); the actual clearance is given in the air, though.

CLE wrote:

Is it possible to receive IFR clearance out of uncontrolled fields by phoning the controlling ATS unit prior to departure like in the US? As I assume it varies by country, I’m mostly interested in Sweden, Germany and Denmark.

You can’t do it in Sweden, unfortunately.

In Germany, it is in practice impossible to depart IFR from uncontrolled fields except from AFIS airports, so the question is moot,.

At least in Finland and Estonia you can do it. I have filed several times IFR (I) departure from uncontrolled/tower closed airport and got clearance by phone before departure. However, I have noticed that you might need to wait for several minutes on ground if ATC is busy. That is why I usually file Z (weather permitting) and only phone ATC for coordination (squawk code) and request clearance on air which always comes immediately.

In Finland interestingly you cannot find anything in AIP but the procedure is described in detail in AIC https://www.ais.fi/aica/A/A2023/EF_AIC_2023_A_009_en.pdf
In Estonia you can find it in ENR 1.10 / 4.1 Activating a Flight Plan. Even if not described in detail but it is clear that it gives you a procedure to initiate ATS services by phone for an IFR flight plan from an aerodrome without any ATS in operation.

LowTimePilot wrote:

In Finland interestingly you cannot find anything in AIP but the procedure is described in detail in AIC https://www.ais.fi/aica/A/A2023/EF_AIC_2023_A_009_en.pdf

I wish the Swedish CAA could be as reasonable. They have grudgingly accepted that you can make IFR approaches without ATS units in operation, but only because EASA says so. Before EASA it was a strict no-no. They are also stalling the attempt of several airports without ATS to get approved RNP approaches.

Several airport operators have prohibited IFR approaches when their ATS is closed, which the CAA has endorsed. I can’t see what legal basis they have for that, though.

You can do that in Croatia as well.

In the UK you can’t.

You can phone up London Control and get the transponder code, so you can skip the (sometimes badly time-wasting and in bad wx potentially dangerous) call to London Info.

Europe does not offer the US method where you phone up and get a time slot for joining CAS. Here they don’t trust pilots to do it right

Peter wrote:

Europe does not offer the US method where you phone up and get a time slot for joining CAS. Here they don’t trust pilots to do it right

Apparently Finland does.

Here they don’t trust pilots to do it right

I rather think it is the low demand because of the very low number of GA IFR flights with light aircraft.