Reclearance Routes in Aviation

Flight plans are built around a planned destination, but operational circumstances can sometimes require an aircraft to divert to an alternative airport.

For flights operating with a reclearance route, the crew has a defined decision point at which they can determine whether to continue towards the planned destination or proceed to a designated reclearance airfield.

For flight crews, having this information clearly presented within the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) can make the decision easier to manage while ensuring that the navigation log and subsequent flight records remain accurate.

The skybook EFB Journey Log supports reclearance routes directly within the Nav Log, allowing crews to switch between the planned and reclearance routes during the flight.

What is a reclearance route?

A reclearance route is an operational flight planning arrangement where an aircraft has a planned destination as well as a designated reclearance airfield.

The flight initially follows the planned route towards its intended destination. At a predetermined Reclearance Decision Point, the crew can decide whether to:

• Continue on the planned route to the original destination
• Switch to the reclearance route and divert to the designated reclearance airfield

The reclearance option provides an alternative plan that can be used when operational circumstances mean that continuing to the original destination is no longer the preferred option.

The crew may choose the reclearance route if factors such as fuel, weather, airport conditions, ATC restrictions or other operational considerations make the alternative destination more appropriate.

The exact operational procedures and requirements for reclearance flights depend on the applicable flight planning, regulatory and operator procedures.

Switching to reclearance route in the skybook EFB

In the skybook EFB, reclearance route information is presented directly within the Nav Log of the Journey Log.

Before the Reclearance Decision Point, the flight follows the planned route as normal.

When the crew decides to divert to the reclearance airfield, they can select Switch to Reclearance Route.

All waypoints are replaced with the waypoints for the reclearance route.

This means the crew does not need to manually manage the change between the two sets of route information.

Automatic time recalculation

When switching routes, skybook also recalculates the times associated with the new waypoints.

Any difference between the planned and actual progress is carried forward into the timings for the reclearance route.

This helps ensure that the remaining Nav Log information reflects the aircraft's actual progress rather than simply reverting to the original planned timings.

The final waypoint also changes from the original planned destination to the reclearance destination airfield.

The change is also reflected in the post-flight sign off and arrival airport information.

What happens with multi-sector voyages?

For multiple sector voyages, switching to a reclearance route means that the onward sectors will no longer be flown as originally planned.

As a result, attempts to switch to onward sectors are denied when the flight has been switched to the reclearance route.

This helps prevent crews from inadvertently progressing to sectors that are no longer applicable to the flight.

Reclearance route data in the Ground Portal

The reclearance route information doesn't stop on the EFB.

Once the sector is signed off, voyage data is transmitted to the skybook Ground Portal, any en-route information entered against the routes can be viewed within the Nav Log tab of the Flight Data Summary.

This gives flight operations and ground teams visibility of the route that was ultimately flown, including the information recorded during the flight.

Managing changing flight plans within the EFB

Reclearance routes are designed to provide crews with an alternative option when operational circumstances require a change from the original flight plan.

By incorporating reclearance route functionality directly into the skybook Nav Log, from automatically updating waypoints and recalculating times to updating the destination and post-flight records, skybook helps ensure that the EFB reflects the route flown.

Book a skybook demo to see how our integrated EFB platform can help streamline flight briefing, journey logging, flight data management and post-flight reporting.

Frequently Asked Questions