Canada Issues Guidance for Single-pilot SOP Mandate

Transport Canada has issued guidance for Canadian air-taxi and commuter operators flying single-pilot international trips to create required standard operating procedures (SOPs). The new guidance calls for hard weather triggers that mandate a course reversal or diversion, backed by a no-fault turnaround policy.

Interim Order No. 2 (2026) made SOPs mandatory for single-pilot international operations under Subparts 703 and 704 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations. Advisory Circular 700-067 details what airplane and helicopter operators under Subparts 702, 703, and 704 should include in single-pilot and multi-crew SOPs.

With no second pilot to cross-check, the guidance makes SOPs the backbone of crew resource management, built on self-callouts and checklist verification. Defined expectations for when to continue, divert, or discontinue help curb continuation bias, it said, with decisions resting on “objective, pre-established criteria rather than emotion or intuition.”

Single-pilot SOPs should include a pre-departure self-briefing identifying where to turn back or divert, plus hard triggers such as cloud ceilings dropping toward terrain or loss of a clear horizon. Fuel guidance suggests extra wind contingency and en route triggers to divert earlier and land with more fuel.

For single-pilot IFR operations, suggested content includes writing down clearances, self-briefing at defined points, engine-failure planning for every flight phase, and requiring automation at high workload.

The helicopter sections cover wire strikes, rotor strikes, whiteout, and mountain wave scenarios, plus emergency-authority rules for two pilots in a dual-control single-pilot helicopter. Helicopter SOPs should address mission pressure, including ruling out management penalties for stopping, delaying, or cutting a flight short.

Inspectors, who need not formally approve SOPs under these subparts, can use the circular to verify that operators cover every required element.