New ICAO Flight Plan Requirements Take Effect Soon

New flight plan requirements developed for ICAO compatibility with digital air traffic management systems around the world take effect tomorrow at 8 p.m. EST. “The amendments to flight plan content go to the very core of flight-plan processing,” according to Eurocontrol. The basic flight plan form and the field composition within the flight-plan message remain unchanged, but the content of some fields will change. A new Eurocontrol interface manual explains the changes from a user’s perspective. NBAA also has a web page with information about the flight-plan changes.