How to: Manage an Active Flight Plan in Europe

Introduction

Everyone has been there... You are at the aircraft. Your passengers have just arrived late. You need to quickly delay the flight before it becomes suspended.

Using RocketRoute, it is just a couple of clicks from your mobile to send a Delay message. RocketRoute takes the hassle out of those stressful moments.

In this article, we cover the basics of Managing "Active" Flight Plans in Europe (Active meaning it has been filed).

Learn how to manage a flight plan field using RocketRoute. Suitable for IFR, and VFR plans filed in Europe.

Manage the Flight plan

After your flight plan has been filed it changes from DRAFT status to ACTIVE. In RocketRoute we signify this change by changing the Flight Summary information from Grey to Green.

Also below the Flight Summary Information we provide a different menu structure, ready for Managing your Flight Plan.

The following sections are provided:

• Delay
• Bring Forward
• Cancel
• Change
• Status
• Track Flight

Other options described in this article:

• Reuse a Flight Plan
• Last Minute Changes
• Messaging History for a Flight Plan
• Briefing Pack
• Details

Also, note that you can adjust your Load Sheet before departure using the Last Minute Changes section. This is useful to add or reduce fuel and passenger loadings prior to departure.

Under Last Minute Changes, you can also Attach Documents relevant to the flight. For example, Fuel Releases and relevant customs information.

 

1. Delaying a Flight

Delaying your flight plan with RocketRoute in Europe is simple and straightforward.

Behind the scenes we process IFR and VFR plans differently. Below is a quick summary and rule of thumb to work with:

• IFR flights in Europe - Delaying with RocketRoute sends a Delay message directly to Eurocontrol and this is processed instantly with confirmation.

• VFR flights in Europe - Delaying varies country by country. Please assume a 5-10-minute period for a Delay message to be relayed to all relevant authorities along the route.

Hints & Tips:

• Check that the Destination airport is still open under the new arrival time.
• Do not delay a flight multiple times - this affects European airspace flow control.
• File for the best estimate of the actual time of departure, not the earliest possible time of departure.
• Do not try and delay a flight where the off-block time has passed.

If you do forget to Delay a Flight and it's now past your Off Block Time +15 minutes it is likely that your flight plan is about to become suspended and Eurocontrol/Tower will report the aircraft as "Not Airborne and Flight Suspended".

In this case please contact the Tower and ask them to Delay the flight plan for you. Alternatively, once RocketRoute receives a Suspended message, our system will automatically mark the flight as Closed. You can now prepare a new flight plan by using the ReUse function and refile as a new flight plan.

How to Delay using RocketRoute

To Delay your flight press the Delay button in the 'Manage' section.

 

In the pop-up window enter the new departure time in the following format: HHMM. Press the Delay button.

 

Note: any flight plan cannot be delayed for more than 20 hours. 

IFR Flight in Europe

Eurocontrol will confirm that the Delay has been "Acknowledged" or ACK. This means RocketRoute received positive confirmation back from Eurocontrol that the Flight Plan that was requested delayed has been processed. At this point, you can be confident that your Flight Plan is now set to the new Off Block Time.

If you receive a MAN meaning "Manual" message, this means Eurocontrol is reviewing your Flight Plan and proposed changes. This can happen if you flying from a regulated airport.

If you receive a REJ meaning "Rejected" message, this means Eurocontrol did not find the original Flight Plan and cannot Delay it OR the flight plan has already been Activated by the Tower or the Pilot. If you receive a REJ message, please contact our Ops team by telephone immediately. We will contact Eurocontrol on your behalf and manually update your flight plan.

 

The acknowledgment message will also be sent to your e-mail box and to your mobile phone.

Here is an example of the Delay ACK e-mail:

The delay acknowledges the message in an email box.

VFR Flight in Europe

When delaying a VFR flight plan, you will not get an acknowledgment. The edited flight plan will be sent to the airports of departure and destination in accordance with the current legislative rules of the country/countries over which the flight is made.

 

 

Press 'Finish' to exit the message.

2. Bring Forward a Departure Time

Within the Flight Plan Filing structure, there is no message type for bringing forward a flight.

RocketRoute however, has built a simple-to-use but behind-the-scenes sophisticated function that will Cancel your current flight plan, copy and refile it.

To do this click the Bring Forward button in the 'Manage' section.

 

Enter the new departure time and date.

Note: it is likely that you will need a NEW Slot number if bringing forward your flight. Please check with the relevant authorities. Also, you can use the Change function to add a SLOT after you adjusted the departure time.

Enter the new details and Press the Bring Forward button.

 

IFR Flight in Europe

The RocketRoute system will process the request. You may receive the following responses:

• ACK for the new flight plan that has been filed.
• MAN for the new flight plan that has been filed.
• REJ for the new flight plan that has been filed.
• REJ for the Cancel of the old flight plan.
• MAN for the old flight plan.

RocketRoute has designed its system to minimize members receiving anything other than an ACK message.

However, if you Cancelled the flight plan via a 3rd party or the Tower and RocketRoute still represents the flight as Active this may lead to these situations.

Remember if you need assistance, please call our Ops team or email at support@rocketroute.com.

Below is an example of an ACK for a Bring Forward of an IFR plan.

 

The ACK message will also be sent to your e-mail box and mobile phone.

Here is how the ACK of Bring Forward will appear in your e-mail box:

The acknowledge message was sent to the email after a flight was successfully brought forward.

Note: by email, you will receive a complete briefing pack for your new flight.

VFR Flight Plan

When you bring forward the departure time of a VFR flight, no acknowledgment will also be sent to you. RocketRoute will send your changed flight plan to the airports of departure and destination following the current legislative rules of the country/countries over which the flight is made.

 

 

 

The message was sent to the email after a VFR flight plan had been brought forward.

The flight plan, approach charts, and briefing pack will be sent to your e-mail box.

3. Cancelling a Flight Plan

Cancel a Flight Plan is used if the flight is no longer taking place at the determined Off Block Time. This may be due to weather conditions or changes in passenger or personal plans.

To cancel your flight plan go to the 'Manage' section and press the Cancel button.

 

 

 

The acknowledgment message was sent to the email after the flight was canceled.

4. Changing a Flight Plan

Changing a Flight Plan allows the user to add information to the Field 18 section. This is useful for adding remarks, SLOT messages, and other details.

To change any remarks in field 18 go to the 'Manage' section and press the Change button.

 

After the Change button is clicked, you will be redirected to the Step 1 page to make the necessary adjustments. Once changed the details, press the Update button at the bottom.

Scroll down to see the Field 18 section. Click it to expand. Enter any necessary remarks. You may add or remove a remark by pressing the 'plus' or 'minus' buttons respectively.

Press the Update button.

The change message is shown to the user before it is sent out.

5. Check the Status of an IFR Flight Plan

This menu option is only presented for IFR Flight Plans in Europe.

Pressing Check will send a message to Eurocontrol asking to confirm this flight details are in their system as correct.

Our Operations team uses this tool to check if there is some confusion over the status of a plan.

If Eurocontrol DOES NOT have your flight plan in the system for the given Off Block time and day, RocketRoute will set the flight status back to Closed. In this situation, if you feel the Flight should be ACTIVE, please contact our ops team by phone or email support@rocketroute.com.

Note: This feature is only available for IFR plans.

You are also free to contact Eurocontrol directly to discuss any flight plan. You can contact them via the following numbers:

+32-274-51-950 (Brussels ops team)

+33-169-88-1750 (Paris ops team)

 

Press the Check Status button and wait for an acknowledge message on your screen.

 

6. Tracking an IFR Flight Plan

IFR flights in Europe or the USA can be tracked during flying in real-time or examined post-flight. Tracking can also be applied for flights with aircraft equipped with Satcom Direct tracking devices or the RocketRoute Mobile Apps.

To access the flight tracking page, go to:

Manage menu > Track Flight.

 

After clicking the 'Track Flight' button, a new window with a map will be opened. The map shows the track of the flight. The flight level, heading, and speed are also displayed, with timestamps in UTC.

The map with a track of an airborne flight.

Reuse a Flight Plan

Re-use is a useful feature if you want to copy a flight plan and use it for the return leg of the flight back to your base. Of it you want to prepare a similar flight but with perhaps a different routing.

If you like the filed flight plan and want to use the same details of the plan for another time/date, you may press the Reuse button at the bottom of the page.

 

RocketRoute will copy all the details (Aircraft, Airport of departure, Airport of destination, Flight rules, and the Type of flight. The Date and Time of the flight will be changed to the current by default) and bring you to the Prepare Plan page. The initial flight plan will stay active, the reused one will be saved in the Draft section and you will be able to file it for the other date.

Making Last-Minute Changes to a Flight

This is essential if you plan on departing with different fuel of passenger loading per the original flight plan.

 

The following options are available:

• Services (Handling SLOT PPR)
• Fuel and M&B
• Details
• Attach Docs
• Passengers
• GENDEC

See a separate post on articles for managing Last Minute Changes.

Checking Messaging History for a Flight Plan

This section displays a simple log of messages sent related to a flight. It shows if a flight has been delayed, canceled, etc...

 

Briefing pack

If you make any changes to your flight plan, they will be immediately processed to generate an updated Briefing Pack. You can view these changes by clicking any of the Briefing Pack options listed below.

If you are using an iPad, iPhone, or Android App, simply press the Sync button to update the flight details instantly.

 

Details

This section provides your flight plan in an ICAO formatted layout matching the traditional Filing Form.

Use this to check any aspect of your Active Flight.