Filing a Flight Plan or Flight Itinerary
An ATC flight plan is a document which provides specified information to air traffic service units relative to an intended flight or portion of a flight of an aircraft. It is a useful tool for locating aircraft in the event of a search and rescue operation.
VFR Flight Plans and Itineraries
A VFR flight plan or flight itinerary should normally be opened with a control tower, an FSS, an FIC or a CARS upon departure to activate the alerting service. The pilot is responsible for extending or cancelling the flight plan or flight itinerary if the flight is delayed or cancelled. If an extension or cancellation is not received by the proposed departure time, the responsible ATS unit will activate the flight plan or flight itinerary, using the ETD as the actual time of departure (ATD).
IFR Flight Plans and Itineraries
Exceptions however are afforded to flights conducted in part or in whole outside controlled airspace or when facilities are inadequate to permit the communication of flight plan information to an air traffic control unit, in which case a flight itinerary may be filed in lieu of a flight plan.
Composite Flight Plan or Flight Itinerary
A composite flight plan or flight itinerary may be filed that describes part(s) of the route as operating under VFR and part(s) of the route as operating under IFR. All rules governing VFR or IFR apply to that portion of the route of flight. A composite flight plan or flight itinerary shall not be filed for an aircraft that will enter airspace controlled by the FAA, including CDA delegated to the FAA, as composite data cannot be correctly processed between NAV CANADA and FAA systems.
Flights Between Canada and a Foreign State
A VFR or IFR flight plan must be filed prior to conducting any flight between Canada and a foreign state. If the flight is to any country other than the U.S., an ICAO flight plan must be filed. ATS must not accept flight itineraries, composite flight plans, or CVFR flight plans for flights between Canada and the U.S.
Contents of a Flight Plan or a Flight Itinerary
The pilot briefing service is provided by FICs to assist pilots at the pre-flight planning stage and for information updates while en route. Pilot requests for initial briefings while airborne are not encouraged because this practice leads to frequency congestion. The telephone numbers of NAV CANADA FICs are found in the General and Aerodrome/Facility Directory sections of the CFS or CWAS. Long distance phone calls can be made to a FIC toll-free at 1-866-WXBRIEF (1-866-992-7433). A call to this number is routed to the FIC that serves the area from which the call originates. A call to 1-866-GOMÉTÉO (1-866-466-3836) is routed to the Québec FIC for the provision of bilingual service. A specific FIC may be contacted at the number shown in the CFS or CWAS, General section, Flight Planning (FLT PLN) sub-section. Collect calls from pilots are accepted at all FICs.