- accuracy
means a degree of conformance between the estimated or measured value and the true value;
- advisory airspace
means an airspace of defined dimensions, or designated route, within which air traffic advisory service is available;
- advisory route
means a designated route along which air traffic advisory service is available;
- aerial work
means an aircraft operation in which an aircraft is used for specialised services such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol, search and rescue, aerial advertisement, etc.;
- aerobatic flight
means manoeuvres intentionally performed by an aircraft involving an abrupt change in its attitude, an abnormal attitude, or an abnormal variation in speed, not necessary for normal flight or for instruction for licenses or ratings other than aerobatic rating;
- aerodrome
means a defined area (including any buildings, installations and equipment) on land or water or on a fixed, fixed off-shore or floating structure intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft;
- aerodrome control service
means air traffic control service for aerodrome traffic;
- aerodrome control tower
means a unit established to provide air traffic control service to aerodrome traffic;
- aerodrome traffic
means all traffic on the manoeuvring area of an aerodrome and all aircraft flying in the vicinity of an aerodrome.
- aerodrome traffic circuit
means the specified path to be flown by aircraft operating in the vicinity of an aerodrome;
- aerodrome traffic zone
means an airspace of defined dimensions established around an aerodrome for the protection of aerodrome traffic;
- Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)
means a publication issued by or with the authority of a State and containing aeronautical information of a lasting character essential to air navigation;
- aeronautical mobile service
means a mobile service between aeronautical stations and aircraft stations, or between aircraft stations, in which survival craft stations may participate;
- aeronautical station
means a land station in the aeronautical mobile service.
- aeroplane
means a power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, deriving its lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given conditions of flight;
- air traffic
means all aircraft in flight or operating on the manoeuvring area of an aerodrome;
- air traffic advisory service
means a service provided within advisory airspace to ensure separation, in so far as practical, between aircraft which are operating on instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plans;
- air traffic control (ATC) clearance
means authorisation for an aircraft to proceed under conditions specified by an air traffic control unit;
- air traffic control instruction
means directives issued by air traffic control for the purpose of requiring a pilot to take a specific action;
- air traffic control service
means a service provided for the purpose of:
- air traffic control unit
means a generic term meaning variously, area control centre, approach control unit or aerodrome control tower;
- air traffic service (ATS)
means a generic term meaning variously, flight information service, alerting service, air traffic advisory service, air traffic control service (area control service, approach control service or aerodrome control service);
- air traffic services (ATS) reporting office (ARO)
means a unit established for the purpose of receiving reports concerning air traffic services and flight plans submitted before departure;
- air traffic services (ATS) surveillance service
means a service provided directly by means of an ATS surveillance system;
- air traffic services (ATS) unit
means a generic term meaning, variously, air traffic control unit, flight information centre, aerodrome flight information service unit or air traffic services reporting office;
- air-ground communication
means two-way communication between aircraft and stations or locations on the surface of the earth;
- air-ground control radio station
means an aeronautical telecommunication station having primary responsibility for handling communications pertaining to the operation and control of aircraft in a given area;
- air-report
means a report from an aircraft in flight prepared in conformity with requirements for position, and operational and/or meteorological reporting;
- air-taxiing
means movement of a helicopter/vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) above the surface of an aerodrome, normally in ground effect and at a ground speed normally less than 37 km/h (20 kts);
- airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS)
means an aircraft system based on secondary surveillance radar (SSR) transponder signals which operates independently of ground-based equipment to provide advice to the pilot on potential conflicting aircraft that are equipped with SSR transponders;
- aircraft
means any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface;
- aircraft address
means a unique combination of 24 bits available for assignment to an aircraft for the purpose of air-ground communications, navigation and surveillance;
- aircraft identification
means a group of letters, figures, or a combination of them, which is either identical, or the coded equivalent, to the aircraft call sign to be used in air–ground communications, and which is used to identify the aircraft in ground–ground air traffic services communications;
- aircraft observation
means the evaluation of one or more meteorological elements made from an aircraft in flight;
- AIRMET
means information issued by a meteorological watch office concerning the occurrence or expected occurrence of specified en-route weather phenomena which may affect the safety of low-level aircraft operations and of the development of those phenomena in time and space, and which was not already included in the forecast issued for low-level flights in the flight information region concerned or sub-area thereof;
- airway
means a control area or portion thereof established in the form of a corridor;
- alerting service
means a service provided to notify appropriate organisations regarding aircraft in need of search and rescue aid, and assist such organisations as required;
- alternate aerodrome
means an aerodrome to which an aircraft may proceed when it becomes either impossible or inadvisable to proceed to or to land at the aerodrome of intended landing, where the necessary services and facilities are available, where aircraft performance requirements can be met and which is operational at the expected time of use.
- altitude
means the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from mean sea level (MSL);
- approach control service
means air traffic control service for arriving or departing controlled flights;
- approach control unit
means a unit established to provide air traffic control service to controlled flights arriving at, or departing from, one or more aerodromes;
- apron
means a defined area, intended to accommodate aircraft for purposes of loading or unloading passengers, mail or cargo, fuelling, parking or maintenance;
- area control centre (ACC)
means a unit established to provide air traffic control service to controlled flights in control areas under its jurisdiction;
- area control service
means air traffic control service for controlled flights in control areas;
- area navigation (RNAV)
means a method of navigation which permits aircraft operation on any desired flight path within the coverage of ground- or space-based navigation aids or within the limits of the capability of self-contained aids, or a combination of these;
- automatic dependent surveillance — broadcast (ADS-B)
means a means by which aircraft, aerodrome vehicles and other objects can automatically transmit and/or receive data such as identification, position and additional data, as appropriate, in a broadcast mode via a data link;
- automatic dependent surveillance — contract (ADS-C)
means a means by which the terms of an ADS-C agreement will be exchanged between the ground system and the aircraft, via a data link, specifying under what conditions ADS-C reports would be initiated, and what data would be contained in the reports;
- automatic dependent surveillance — contract (ADS-C) agreement
means a reporting plan which establishes the conditions of ADS-C data reporting (i.e. data required by the air traffic services unit and frequency of ADS-C reports which have to be agreed to, prior to using ADS-C in the provision of air traffic services);
- automatic terminal information service (ATIS)
means the automatic provision of current, routine information to arriving and departing aircraft throughout 24 hours or a specified portion thereof:
- ceiling
means the height above the ground or water of the base of the lowest layer of cloud below 6000 m (20000 ft) covering more than half the sky;
- change-over point
means the point at which an aircraft navigating on an ATS route segment defined by reference to very high frequency omnidirectional radio ranges is expected to transfer its primary navigational reference from the facility behind the aircraft to the next facility ahead of the aircraft;
- clearance limit
means the point to which an aircraft is granted an air traffic control clearance;
- cloud of operational significance
means a cloud with the height of cloud base below 1500 m (5000 ft) or below the highest minimum sector altitude, whichever is greater, or a cumulonimbus cloud or a towering cumulus cloud at any height;
- code (SSR)
means the number assigned to a particular multiple pulse reply signal transmitted by a transponder in Mode A or Mode C;
- communicable disease
means an infectious disease caused by a contagious agent which is transmitted from person to person by direct contact with an infected individual or by indirect means such as exposure to a vector, animal, fomite, product or environment, or exchange of fluid, which is contaminated with the contagious agent;
- competent authority
means the authority designated by the Member State as competent to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Regulation;
- control area
means a controlled airspace extending upwards from a specified limit above the earth;
- control zone
means a controlled airspace extending upwards from the surface of the earth to a specified upper limit;
- controlled aerodrome
means an aerodrome at which air traffic control service is provided to aerodrome traffic;
- controlled airspace
means an airspace of defined dimensions within which air traffic control service is provided in accordance with the airspace classification;
- controlled flight
means any flight which is subject to an air traffic control clearance;
- critical area
means an area of defined dimensions extending around the ground equipment of a precision instrument approach within which the presence of vehicles or aircraft will cause unacceptable disturbance of the guidance signals;
- cruise climb
means an aeroplane cruising technique resulting in a net increase in altitude as the aeroplane mass decreases;
- cruising level
means a level maintained during a significant portion of a flight;
- current flight plan (CPL)
means the flight plan, including changes, if any, brought about by subsequent clearances;
- danger area
means an airspace of defined dimensions within which activities dangerous to the flight of aircraft may exist at specified times;
- Data link-automatic terminal information service (D-ATIS)
means the provision of ATIS via data link;
- datum
means any quantity or set of quantities that may serve as a reference or basis for the calculation of other quantities;
- downstream clearance
means a clearance issued to an aircraft by an air traffic control unit that is not the current controlling authority of that aircraft;
- estimated elapsed time
means the estimated time required to proceed from one significant point to another;
- estimated off-block date
means the estimated date on which the aircraft will commence movement associated with departure;
- estimated off-block time
means the estimated time at which the aircraft will commence movement associated with departure;
- estimated time of arrival (ETA)
means for IFR flights, the time at which it is estimated that the aircraft will arrive over that designated point, defined by reference to navigation aids, from which it is intended that an instrument approach procedure will be commenced, or, if no navigation aid is associated with the aerodrome, the time at which the aircraft will arrive over the aerodrome.
- expected approach time
means the time at which ATC expects that an arriving aircraft, following a delay, will leave the holding fix to complete its approach for a landing.
- filed flight plan (FPL)
means the flight plan as filed with an ATS unit by the pilot or a designated representative, without any subsequent changes;
- flight crew member
means a licensed crew member charged with duties essential to the operation of an aircraft during a flight duty period;
- flight information centre
means a unit established to provide flight information service and alerting service;
- flight information region
means an airspace of defined dimensions within which flight information service and alerting service are provided;
- flight information service
means a service provided for the purpose of giving advice and information useful for the safe and efficient conduct of flights;
- flight level (FL)
means a surface of constant atmospheric pressure which is related to a specific pressure datum, 1013,2 hectopascals (hPa), and is separated from other such surfaces by specific pressure intervals;
- flight plan
means specified information provided to air traffic services units, relative to an intended flight or portion of a flight of an aircraft;
- flight visibility
means the visibility forward from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight;
- flights operated under visual flight rules
(VFR flights) means any flights conducted in accordance with visual flight rules.’.
- forecast
means a statement of expected meteorological conditions for a specified time or period, and for a specified area or portion of airspace;
- ground visibility
means the visibility at an aerodrome, as reported by an accredited observer or by automatic systems;
- heading
means the direction in which the longitudinal axis of an aircraft is pointed, usually expressed in degrees from North (true, magnetic, compass or grid);
- height
means the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from a specified datum;
- helicopter
means a type of rotorcraft supported in flight chiefly by the reactions of the air on up to two power-driven rotors on substantially vertical axes;
- high seas airspace
means airspace beyond land territory and territorial seas, as specified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 1982);
- IFR
means the symbol used to designate instrument flight rules’.
- IMC
means the symbol used to designate instrument meteorological conditions;
- instrument approach operations
means an approach and landing using instruments for navigation guidance based on an instrument approach procedure.
- instrument approach procedure (IAP)
means a series of predetermined manoeuvres by reference to flight instruments with specified protection from obstacles from the initial approach fix, or where applicable, from the beginning of a defined arrival route to a point from which a landing can be completed and thereafter, if a landing is not completed, to a position at which holding or en-route obstacle clearance criteria apply.
- Integrated Initial Flight Plan Processing System (IFPS)
means a system within the European Air Traffic Management network through which a centralised flight planning processing and distribution service, dealing with the reception, validation and distribution of flight plans, is provided within the airspace to which this Regulation applies;
- landing area
means that part of a movement area intended for the landing or take-off of aircraft;
- level
means a generic term relating to the vertical position of an aircraft in flight and meaning variously, height, altitude or flight level;
- manoeuvring area
means that part of an aerodrome to be used for the take-off, landing and taxiing of aircraft, excluding aprons;
- meteorological watch office (MWO)
means an office monitoring meteorological conditions affecting flight operations and providing information concerning the occurrence or expected occurrence of specified en-route weather and other phenomena in the atmosphere which may affect the safety of aircraft operations within its specified area of responsibility;
- minimum fuel
means a term used to describe a situation in which an aircraft’s fuel/energy supply has reached a state where the flight is committed to land at a specific aerodrome and no additional delay can be accepted;
- mode (SSR)
means the conventional identifier related to specific functions of the interrogation signals transmitted by an SSR interrogator.
- model aircraft
means an unmanned aircraft, other than toy aircraft, having an operating mass not exceeding limits prescribed by the competent authority, that is capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere and that is used exclusively for display or recreational activities;
- mountainous area
means an area of changing terrain profile where the changes of terrain elevation exceed 900 m (3000 ft) within a distance of 18,5 km (10,0 NM);
- movement area
means that part of an aerodrome to be used for the take-off, landing and taxiing of aircraft, consisting of the manoeuvring area and the apron(s);
- Network Manager (NM)
means the body entrusted with the tasks necessary for the execution of the functions referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 551/2004;
- night
means the hours between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight.
- NOTAM
means a notice distributed by means of telecommunication containing information concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure, or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations;
- obstacle
means all fixed (whether temporary or permanent) and mobile objects, or parts thereof, that:
- operating site
means a site selected by the operator or pilot-in-command for landing, take-off and/or hoist operations;
- originator of a flight plan
means a person or organisation submitting flight plans and any associated update messages to the Integrated Initial Flight Plan Processing System (IFPS), including pilots, operators and agents acting on their behalf, and ATS units;
- pilot-in-command
means the pilot designated by the operator, or in the case of general aviation, the owner, as being in command and charged with the safe conduct of a flight;
- pre-flight phase
means the period from the first submission of a flight plan until the first air traffic control clearance is delivered;
- pressure-altitude
means an atmospheric pressure expressed in terms of altitude which corresponds to that pressure in the Standard Atmosphere, as defined in Annex 8, Part 1 to the Chicago Convention;
- problematic use of substances
means the use of one or more psychoactive substances by aviation personnel in a way that:
- prohibited area
means an airspace of defined dimensions, above the land areas or territorial waters of a State, within which the flight of aircraft is prohibited;
- psychoactive substance
means alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens, and volatile solvents, whereas caffeine and tobacco are excluded;
- public health
means all elements related to health, namely health status, including morbidity and disability, the determinants having an effect on that health status, health care needs, resources allocated to health care, the provision of, and universal access to, health care as well as health care expenditure and financing, and the causes of mortality.
- radar
means a radio detection device which provides information on range, azimuth and/or elevation of objects;
- radio mandatory zone (RMZ)
means an airspace of defined dimensions wherein the carriage and operation of radio equipment is mandatory;
- radio navigation service
means a service providing guidance information or position data for the efficient and safe operation of aircraft supported by one or more radio navigation aids;
- radiotelephony
means a form of radiocommunication primarily intended for the exchange of information in the form of speech;
- repetitive flight plan
means a flight plan related to a series of frequently recurring, regularly operated individual flights with identical basic features, submitted by an operator for retention and repetitive use by ATS units;
- reporting point
means a specified geographical location in relation to which the position of an aircraft can be reported;
- restricted area
means an airspace of defined dimensions, above the land areas or territorial waters of a State, within which the flight of aircraft is restricted in accordance with certain specified conditions;
- rotorcraft
means a power-driven, heavier-than-air aircraft that depends principally for its support in flight on the lift generated by up to two rotors;
- route segment
means a route or portion of route usually flown without an intermediate stop;
- runway
means a defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft;
- runway condition report (RCR)
means a comprehensive standardised report relating to the conditions of the runway surface and their effect on the aeroplane landing and take-off performance, described by means of runway conditions code;
- runway visual range (RVR)
means the range over which the pilot of an aircraft on the centre line of a runway can see the runway surface markings or the lights delineating the runway or identifying its centre line;
- runway-holding position
means a designated position intended to protect a runway, an obstacle limitation surface, or an instrument landing system (ILS)/microwave landing system (MLS) critical/sensitive area at which taxiing aircraft and vehicles are to stop and hold, unless otherwise authorised by the aerodrome control tower;
- safety-sensitive personnel
means persons who might endanger aviation safety if they perform their duties and functions improperly, including crew members, aircraft maintenance personnel, aerodrome operations personnel, rescue, fire-fighting and maintenance personnel, personnel allowed unescorted access to the movement area and air traffic controllers;
- sailplane
means a heavier-than-air aircraft which is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its fixed lifting surfaces, the free flight of which does not depend on an engine, including also hang gliders, paragliders and other comparable craft;
- secondary surveillance radar (SSR)
means a surveillance radar system which uses transmitters/receivers (interrogators) and transponders;
- sensitive area
means an area extending beyond the critical area where the parking or movement, or both, of aircraft or vehicles will affect the guidance signal to the extent that it may be rendered as an unacceptable disturbance to aircraft using the signal;
- SIGMET
means information issued by a meteorological watch office concerning the occurrence or expected occurrence of specified en-route weather and other phenomena in the atmosphere which may affect the safety of aircraft operations and of the development of those phenomena in time and space;
- signal area
means an area on an aerodrome used for the display of ground signals;
- significant point
means a specified geographical location used in defining an ATS route or the flight path of an aircraft and for other navigation and ATS purposes;
- special VFR flight
means a VFR flight cleared by air traffic control to operate within a control zone in meteorological conditions below VMC;
- strayed aircraft
means an aircraft which has deviated significantly from its intended track or which reports that it is lost;
- surveillance radar
means radar equipment used to determine the position of an aircraft in range and azimuth;
- taxiing
means movement of an aircraft on the surface of an aerodrome or an operating site under its own power, excluding take-off and landing;
- taxiway
means a defined path on a land aerodrome established for the taxiing of aircraft and intended to provide a link between one part of the aerodrome and another, including:
- territory
means the land areas and territorial waters adjacent thereto under the sovereignty, suzerainty, protection or mandate of a State;
- threshold
means the beginning of that portion of the runway usable for landing;
- total estimated elapsed time
means:
- toy aircraft
means an unmanned aircraft designed or intended for use, whether or not exclusively, in play by children under 14 years of age;
- track
means the projection on the earth’s surface of the path of an aircraft, the direction of which path at any point is usually expressed in degrees from North (true, magnetic or grid);
- traffic avoidance advice
means an advice provided by an air traffic services unit specifying manoeuvres to assist a pilot to avoid a collision;
- traffic information
means information issued by an air traffic services unit to alert a pilot to other known or observed air traffic which may be in proximity to the position or intended route of flight and to help the pilot avoid a collision;
- transfer of control point
means a defined point located along the flight path of an aircraft, at which the responsibility for providing air traffic control service to the aircraft is transferred from one control unit or control position to the next;
- transition altitude
means the altitude at or below which the vertical position of an aircraft is controlled by reference to altitudes;
- transition level
means the lowest flight level available for use above the transition altitude;
- transponder mandatory zone (TMZ)
means an airspace of defined dimensions wherein the carriage and operation of pressure-altitude reporting transponders is mandatory;
- unidentified aircraft
means an aircraft which has been observed or reported to be operating in a given area but whose identity has not been established;
- unmanned free balloon
means a non-power-driven, unmanned, lighter-than-air aircraft in free flight;
- vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)-capable aircraft (VCA)
means a power-driven, heavier-than-air aircraft, other than aeroplane or rotorcraft, capable of performing vertical take-off and landing by means of lift and thrust units used to provide lift during take-off and landing;
- VFR
means the symbol used to designate visual flight rules.’
- visibility
means visibility for aeronautical purposes which is the greater of:
- VMC
means the symbol used to designate visual meteorological conditions;
- Voice-automatic terminal information service (Voice-ATIS)
means the provision of ATIS by means of continuous and repetitive voice broadcasts;