Amending a filed flight plan or itinerary
An amendment is a change to a filed flight plan or itinerary, before departure or en route. Closing is a separate report.
| VFR (CAR 602.76(3)-(4)) | IFR (CAR 602.76(1)-(2)) | |
|---|---|---|
| Changes that trigger | Route, duration, destination aerodrome | Cruising altitude/flight level, route, destination, TAS by 5% or more of filed, Mach by 0.01 or more of ATC-cleared |
| Notify | ATS unit, community aerodrome radio station, or responsible person | ATC unit or responsible person |
| When | As soon as practicable | As soon as practicable |
| Clearance | Never, any airspace | Required before the change if in controlled airspace |
- Altitude and speed/Mach changes trigger IFR only.
- Alerting and SAR rely on what pilot reported (TC AIM RAC 3.6). Unreported change = search along wrong route.
Diverting (TP 1102, Advise Others):
- Tell ATC the new destination.
- Skip it: SAR effort may be mounted after safe landing elsewhere.
- Worse: if precautionary or forced landing follows, search concentrates along filed route, not alternate route.
Landed, no emergency (TC AIM SAR 3.4):
- Notify nearest ATS unit of changed flight plan or itinerary, to avoid unnecessary search.
- No ATS contact: relay through another aircraft on one of:
- 126.7 MHz
- local VFR common frequency
- local ACC IFR frequency listed in the CFS
- 121.5 MHz
- HF 5 680 kHz
Trap: VFR change = notify only, never clearance; IFR notify-only outside controlled airspace is not enough inside it.
References
- CARs 602.76
- TC AIM RAC 3.6
- TC AIM SAR 3.4
- TP 1102 Pilot Navigation, Advise Others