During education sessions at February’s 2025 NBAA International Operators Conference, business aviation pilots received updates about best practices for flying over the North Atlantic (NAT), the world’s busiest oceanic airspace.
“Pilots are not flying their cleared routes. Instead, they are following their flight-planned routes. A revised or amended clearance leads to many lateral deviations and gross navigational errors.”
Don Trekell, Instructor, Scott International Procedures LLC
Don Trekell, an instructor at Scott International Procedures LLC, said data is showing increases in gross navigational errors (GNE). “Pilots are not flying their cleared routes. Instead, they are following their flight-planned routes. A revised or amended clearance leads to many lateral deviations and gross navigational errors.”
He pointed out a few other potential reasons for the rise in GNEs. “Contributing factors include the infrequency of flying these routes and a lack of adherence to good SOPs,” Trekell said. “While business aviation accounts for only about 5% of the traffic across the North Atlantic, our error percentage is higher.”
The North Atlantic Monitoring Agency is increasingly aware of these deviations. More errors are being detected due to enhanced surveillance capabilities through ADS-C and the implementation of space-based ADS-B. Surveillance in the North Atlantic is now comprehensive because controllers can access data they have never seen before, said Trekell. He noted that the number of instances of loss of separation is also increasing each year.
Another concern is the use of Request for Clearance (RCL). In the past, aircraft approaching the North Atlantic through Gander, Shanwick, Keflavik, Bodo and Santa Maria needed a separate oceanic clearance for the crossing. To obtain this clearance, the crew submitted an RCL. In return, the crew received permission for the oceanic crossing, including routing, speed and flight level.
When the requirement for a separate oceanic clearance was removed last year, the clearance obtained at the departure airport became the clearance for the flight. However, a decision was made to retain and redefine RCL. It is now a voice or datalink ACARS message that provides the ETA at the oceanic entry point, the requested flight level and the Mach number. It now serves only as an advisory to ATC, and no clearance will be returned from the message.
If an RCL is accepted, the crew is not required to take any action. If a rejected message is received, the crew should follow the instructions in that message. If no response is received within 15 minutes after sending the RCL, it must be communicated via voice. RCLs must also be sent within the published time parameters. Before Gander, for instance, crews must send their RCL request between 90 and 60 minutes prior to the oceanic entry point. If it is sent at 59 minutes, it will be rejected.
Because Shanwick has not yet implemented the new procedure, a separate clearance is required to enter the oceanic airspace in the Shanwick Flight Information Region. It is important to check current NOTAMs before a flight into the North Atlantic to verify the status of Shanwick’s implementation of the Oceanic Clearance Removal (OCR). Be aware: The OCR removal has other differences. For complete details, refer to the current version of NAT DOC 007, North Atlantic Operations and Airspace Manual, and NAT OPS Bulletin 23_001.
Review NBAA resources surrounding airspace guidance at nbaa.org/airspace.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.