IAOPA News Report - VFR Flight Plans within Schengen Area

In a previous newsletter it was reported that there has been a relaxation of the requirement to file a flightplan within the Schengen Area. This gave rise to several questions from our members, so a few clarifications are appropriate.

No flight plan is required for VFR flights to or from a state within the Schengen area unless:

• The relevant state has a flight plan requirement for VFR flights;
• The flight crosses the airspace of a state outside the Schengen area; or
• The submission of a flight plan is mandatory under paragraph SERA.4001, part b, subparts 1, 3, 4 and 6 of Regulation (EU) No. 923/2012.

SERA.4001 Submission of a flight plan states:

(a) Information relative to an intended flight or portion of a flight, to be provided to air traffic services units, shall be in the form of a flight plan. 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.

(b) A flight plan shall be submitted prior to operating:

(1) any flight or portion thereof to be provided with air traffic control service;

(2) any IFR flight within advisory airspace;

(3) any flight within or into areas, or along routes designated by the competent authority, to facilitate the provision of flight information, alerting and search and rescue services;

(4) any flight within or into areas or along routes designated by the competent authority, to facilitate coordination with appropriate military units or with air traffic services units in adjacent States in order to avoid the possible need for interception for the purpose of identification;

(5) any flight across international borders, unless otherwise prescribed by the States concerned;

(6) any flight planned to operate at night, if leaving the vicinity of an aerodrome.

(c) A flight plan shall be submitted, before departure, to an air traffic services reporting office or, during flight, transmitted to the appropriate air traffic services unit or air-ground control radio station, unless arrangements have been made for submission of repetitive flight plans.

(d) 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.

This last point deserves some clarification. You must therefore submit a flight plan for:

Any flight or portion thereof to be provided with air traffic control service;

Any flight within or into areas, or along routes designated by the competent authority, to facilitate the provision of flight information, alerting and search and rescue services;

Any flight within or into areas or along routes designated by the competent authority, to facilitate coordination with appropriate military units or with air traffic services units in adjacent States in order to avoid the possible need for interception for the purpose of identification;

Any flight planned to operate at night, if leaving the vicinity of an aerodrome.

Please note that many countries still explicitly require a flightplan when crossing the border. Always check the AIP. AOPA Holland has prepared a document which gives the current status. In practice the following block of countries all have relaxations in the flight plan filing requirement: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary

Also note that other Schengen countries not only require a flightplan when crossing the border but also still officially require you to land at a designated airport of entry even for intra-Schengen flights. For instance Denmark.

Schengen countries are Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, as well as the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores.