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Learning hub · Flight Planning and Monitoring · Lesson 2

Filling in an ICAO flight plan

A flight plan tells air traffic services who you are, where you are going and when you should arrive, so that someone starts looking for you if you do not. The international form looks like a wall of codes, but for a simple VFR flight you only need a few of them. This lesson goes through the form one item at a time.

About 13 minutes, plus the quiz. Part of Flight Planning and Monitoring. It builds on the navigation log and in-flight monitoring.

1. When you need a plan, and when to file

Under the European rules of the air (SERA), a flight plan is required before, among others: any flight or part of a flight that receives air traffic control service; any flight across an international border (unless the states concerned say otherwise); any flight in areas or on routes designated by the authority for search and rescue or military coordination; and any flight planned at night that leaves the vicinity of the aerodrome. Your own country may add or change requirements, so check the national AIP and your school’s procedures. Many instructors will tell you to file a plan for any cross-country flight, because it is the cheapest search and rescue insurance there is.

For a flight that needs ATC or crosses a border, the plan should be submitted at least 60 minutes before departure. It goes to the air traffic services reporting office (often called the ARO or AIS briefing office), or through an online filing system or app that your school uses.

2. The form, item by item

The form is defined by ICAO (Doc 4444, Appendix 2). Items are numbered, the numbers skip a few, and you complete only what applies. For a VFR light aeroplane you will meet these:

ItemWhat goes in it
7Aircraft identification: normally the registration without hyphen, up to 7 characters.
8Flight rules (V = VFR, I = IFR, Y = IFR first then VFR, Z = VFR first then IFR) and type of flight (G = general aviation, M = military, S and N for airline flights).
9Number of aircraft (only if more than one), type designator (for example C172) and wake turbulence category (L = light).
10Equipment: radio and navigation letters, then a slash, then the transponder letter. S means standard equipment, and further letters add more, such as D for DME and G for GNSS. N means none.
13Departure aerodrome (four-letter ICAO code) and estimated off-block time in UTC, four digits.
15Cruising speed (N plus 4 digits for knots, such as N0105), the level (VFR, or A045 for 4,500 ft altitude, or F055 for flight level 55), and the route.
16Destination aerodrome and total estimated elapsed time (hours and minutes, four digits), then the alternate aerodrome(s).
18Other information, written as indicators with a slash: REG/ (registration), DOF/ (date of flight, YYMMDD), RMK/ (remarks), and others. Write 0 if there is nothing to add.
19Supplementary information: E/ endurance in hours and minutes, P/ persons on board, R/ radio and emergency equipment (U = UHF, V = VHF, E = ELT), S/ survival equipment, J/ life jackets, D/ dinghies, A/ aircraft colour and markings, N/ remarks, C/ name of the pilot in command.

The flight plan message stops at the end of item 18. Item 19 is supplementary: it is not sent with the message, but it is kept so that the search and rescue service can ask for it. If a field is unknown, use ZZZZ for an aerodrome with no ICAO code and say where in item 18 (for example DEP/ followed by its name or coordinates).

Times are in UTC. If the route is simply a straight line between the departure and destination, write DCT; otherwise list the reporting points or waypoints in order.

3. A worked example

All of this is invented: the aeroplane, its registration, the aerodromes and the times. A Cessna 172 leaves aerodrome LRXX at 0800 UTC for LRYY, flies at 105 kt direct at about 4,500 ft, expects 45 minutes, has LRZZ as an alternate, carries two people and has three hours of fuel. The date is 1 November 2026.

(FPL-YRABC-VG-C172/L-SDGY/C-LRXX0800-N0105A045 DCT-LRYY0045 LRZZ-REG/YRABC DOF/261101)

Reading it from the top: FPL is the message type; YRABC is the identification; VG means VFR and general aviation; C172/L is the type and light wake category; SDGY/C means standard equipment plus DME, GNSS and 8.33 kHz radio, with a Mode C transponder (check which letters apply to your aeroplane); LRXX0800 is the departure and the off-block time; N0105A045 DCT is 105 kt at 4,500 ft, direct; LRYY0045 LRZZ is the destination with a 45-minute flight and the alternate; and item 18 gives the registration and the date.

Item 19 for the same flight, kept on file, would read E/0300 P/002 R/VE A/WHITE RED C/POPESCU (3 hours of endurance, 2 people, VHF and an ELT, aircraft colour, and the name of the pilot in command). On the paper form the radio letters U, V and E are printed and you strike out what you do not carry, so for this aeroplane U would be struck out and V and E left.

4. Activating, changing and closing

A filed plan does nothing until the flight starts. How it is activated depends on the aerodrome: often the plan is activated when ATC is told you are airborne, and sometimes you must call or tell them yourself. Follow the AIP and the local procedure that your instructor shows you.

If something changes in a way that matters, such as a delay, a new destination or a different number of people or fuel endurance, tell the air traffic services unit as soon as you can. SERA says that wrong information about fuel endurance or the number of persons on board is a significant change that must be reported.

When you land, close the plan with an arrival report to the unit at the arrival aerodrome. You do not need to if the aerodrome has an ATS unit and radio communication or visual signals show that your landing was observed. If there is no ATS unit, you make the report as soon as you can to the nearest one, by the quickest means. An unclosed plan can start a search for an aeroplane that is already in the hangar.

This lesson is a learning guide, not the regulation. The form, the letters and the national practice change, so use the current ICAO and national instructions and the form your authority provides, and let your instructor check your first plans.

5. Try it yourself

Work each one out on paper first, then open the answer to compare. The numbers are invented.

  1. Write items 13 and 16 for this invented flight: depart aerodrome LRAA at 1330 UTC, destination LRBB, flight time 1 hour 20 minutes, alternate LRCC.
    Show the answer
    1. Item 13 is the departure aerodrome and the off-block time in UTC: -LRAA1330.
    2. Item 16 is the destination, the total estimated elapsed time (01 hour 20 minutes, written 0120) and then the alternate: -LRBB0120 LRCC.
  2. A pilot writes N0105F055 in item 15. What does it mean?
    Show the answer
    1. N is the unit for the speed and 0105 is 105 knots true airspeed.
    2. F055 is a flight level: FL 55, which is 5,500 ft on the standard setting of 1013 hPa.

    So the plan says: cruise at 105 kt TAS at flight level 55.

  3. You file a plan for a two-hour flight, then the departure is delayed by one hour and you also pick up a third person. Which of these must you tell ATS about, and what do you do when you land at an aerodrome with no ATS unit?
    Show the answer
    1. The delay changes the estimated off-block time, and the third person changes the number of persons on board. Tell the unit as soon as you can; SERA names a wrong number of persons or wrong endurance as significant changes.
    2. On landing, there is no ATS unit to see you, so you make the arrival report as soon as you can by the quickest means to the nearest ATS unit, which closes the plan.

6. Watch

This video goes through the ICAO flight plan items 3 to 16. Details such as equipment letters change over the years, so use it for the layout and not as a reference.

Open on YouTube if the player does not load. Not made by VectorEFB; check what you learn against your flying school’s material and your instructor.

More to watch

The same channel has a short video on item 19, the supplementary information.

Open on YouTube if the player does not load. Not made by VectorEFB.

7. Check yourself

Five original practice questions. Answer them, press Check answers and read each explanation.

1. In the flight rules and type of flight item, what does VG mean?

V means VFR and G means general aviation. VFR first and then IFR is Z.

2. Where does the transmitted flight plan message end?

The message ends at item 18. Item 19 is supplementary and is kept for search and rescue.

3. Which of these flights requires a flight plan under SERA?

SERA lists flights across international borders (unless the states concerned say otherwise) among those that need a plan. A local daylight circuit does not, but check national rules.

4. What should you write for the departure aerodrome if it has no ICAO four-letter code?

ZZZZ means no code, and you give the name or coordinates in item 18 (DEP/).

5. You land at an aerodrome with no ATS unit after a flight on a filed plan. What should you do?

Plans do not close themselves. With no ATS unit at the arrival aerodrome, the arrival report is made to the nearest ATS unit by the quickest means.

Next: NOTAMs and the pre-flight briefing. Back to the learning hub.

For training and situational awareness only. Not certified for navigation. Always use official charts, the AIP, NOTAMs and a proper weather briefing for real flights.