“This was charming no doubt
But they shortly found out
That the Captain they trusted so well
Had only one notion for crossing the Ocean
And that was to tingle his bell.”
Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark
This change was planned for March 2024, but implementation in the Shanwick Oceanic Area has been pushed back, because, well, it’s not easy.
Watch this “North Atlantic Oceanic Entry Procedures” video, it provides good background, and is only 9 minutes. Note that it still mentions March 2024 as implementation date. Which didn’t happen for Shanwick.
Now, hot off the presses (dated September 24, 2024), out comes a video named
“Oceanic Clearance Removal – implementing ANSP’s briefing and update”. Password-protected for some reason. Try NATSOCRSept24.
It’s 1:07 long – one hour and seven minutes. But it was an interactive briefing by UK ATC, and there were pilots in the on-line audience, with questions about the process. And answers given. At times slightly (ATC-)technical, but you might still find it’s worth watching.
Both videos are from the UK Air Traffic Services provider, NATS. I found out about the second one from an email from OPSGROUP – including the password. A really great initiative by a great bunch of people! Invaluable info, especially for the corporate pilots who sometimes need the low-down on new places on short-notice. Also for dispatchers.
While researching this post, I discovered that some of my links to the ICAO NAT Office had gone stale. Here are the current ones for NAT Doc 007, the official document on NAT procedures, and for a whole lot more NAT info.
Calling this change “Oceanic Clearance Removal” wins my misnomer prize for the year.
Now, where’s my bell?