GMC SOP – Phraseology
For the purposes of this and all other phraseological examples in this Knowledgebase, IFR traffic will always be denoted with common airline callsigns, such as BTI123 (Air Baltic 123) and VFR traffic will be denoted with registration-based callsigns, such as YLKGB (YL-KGB: Yankee, Lima, Kilo, Golf, Bravo).
()parentheses shall be used for optional parts of instructions that are to be used on a case by case basis.[]square brackets shall be used for instances where a choice must be made by the station speaking on frequency. Different options will be separated with/forward slashes.{}curly braces shall be used for arbitrary values that will change on a case-by-case basis.
Basic Phraseology
Departure Clearances (IFR)
BTI123: Riga Ground, good evening, BTI123 with information A on board, QNH 1013, Airbus A220-300 on stand 106, requesting IFR clearance to Stockholm-Arlanda.
GMC: BTI123, Riga Ground, good evening, information A is correct, cleared to Stockholm-Arlanda via the LAPSA2H departure, squawk 4341.
BTI123: Cleared to Stockholm-Arlanda via the LAPSA2H departure, squawk 4341, BTI123.
BTI123, your readback is correct.Notes:
- Should the requesting aircraft not report the current ATIS information and QNH or report either of them incorrectly, they should be provided that information as part of their IFR clearance as follows:
information A current, QNH 1013 - QNH values ≤ 1000 hPa shall be read as
QNH 993 hectopascals, i.e. the wordhectopascalsmust be appended to the QNH value. - Phraseology for correcting flight plan inaccuracies is not set in stone, though recommended examples are presented below.
BTI123: Riga Ground, good evening, BTI123 with information A on board, QNH 1013, Airbus A220-300 on stand 106, requesting IFR clearance to Stockholm-Arlanda.
GMC: BTI123, Riga Ground, I do not see a flight plan filed under your callsign, please file a flight plan.
Roger, BTI123.BTI123: Riga Ground, good evening, BTI123 with information A on board, QNH 1013, Airbus A220-300 on stand 106, requesting IFR clearance to Stockholm-Arlanda.
GMC: BTI123, Riga Ground, good evening, your requested flight level is invalid for your direction of flight, would you like FL320 or FL340?
FL320, BTI123.GMC: BTI123, (flight plan amended, )final FL320, report ready to copy IFR clearance.
In cases when the filed flight plan cannot be deemed valid due to the lack of a critical flight plan item (aircraft type, route, etc.) the violating aircraft shall be prompted to refile the flight plan unless it can be corrected by altering the route. Recommended phraseology for both cases is shown below.
BTI123: Riga Ground, good evening, BTI123 with information A on board, QNH 1013, Airbus A220-300 on stand 106, requesting IFR clearance to Stockholm-Arlanda.
GMC: BTI123, Riga Ground, good evening, your filed flight plan is invalid(,{" "} {REASON}). Please refile.
Roger, BTI123.BTI123: Riga Ground, good evening, BTI123 with information A on board, QNH 1013, Airbus A220-300 on stand 106, requesting IFR clearance to Stockholm-Arlanda.
GMC: BTI123, Riga Ground, good evening, your filed flight plan is invalid, an alternative routing is available. Report ready to copy.
Ready to copy, BTI123.GMC: BTI123, information A is correct, cleared to Stockholm-Arlanda via the LAPSA2H departure, then DCT RASEL, after RASEL continue as filed, squawk 4341.
BTI123: Cleared to Stockholm-Arlanda via the LAPSA2H departure, DCT RASEL, continue as filed, squawk 4341, BTI123.
BTI123, your readback is correct.Pushback and Start-up Clearances
BTI123: Riga Ground, BTI123, stand 106, request pushback and start-up.
BTI123, pushback and start-up approved.BTI123: Pushback and start-up approved, BTI123.Notes:
- Exceptions listed in the Procedures section of the SOP may require straight pushback or no pushback at all. Clearances to those kinds of aircraft are issued as follows.
BTI123: Riga Ground, BTI123, stand 105, request pushback and start-up.
BTI123, straight pushback and start-up approved.BTI123: Straight pushback and start-up approved, BTI123.BTI123: Riga Ground, BTI123, stand 108, request (pushback and) start-up.
BTI123, (pushback is not required,) start-up approved.BTI123: Start-up approved, BTI123.Taxi Instructions
Riga Ground, BTI123, request taxi.GMC: BTI123, taxi to holding point, runway 36, via F and A, intersection B is available.
BTI123: Taxi to holding point, runway 36, via F and A, and we will take [B/the full length], BTI123.
Notes:
- The runway intersection holding points are not distinctively named.
Holding point Ais invalid and does not exist;holding point, runway 36shall be used instead. - The current taxiway on which the aircraft is standing MUST NOT be mentioned in the taxi instruction unless it is taxiway F.
- De-icing pads shall be referred to on frequency as
De-icing pad Delta [Sierra/November] [1/2/3/4].
Transfer of Communications
BTI123, contact Riga Tower on 118.105.BTI123: Contact Riga Tower on 118.105, BTI123.Notes:
- In hight traffic volume situations
callsign onlymay be appended to the end of the instruction at the receiving ATS unit’s request.
Advanced Phraseology
Departure Clearances (VFR)
It is important to remember that each request may differ, sometimes rather significantly. The pilot’s request must be relayed to TWR as accurately as possible and as soon as possible.
Notes:
- Should the requesting aircraft not report the current ATIS information and QNH or report either of them incorrectly, they should be provided that information as part of their IFR clearance as follows:
information A current, QNH 1013 - QNH values ≤ 1000 hPa shall be read as
QNH 993 hectopascals, i.e. the wordhectopascalsmust be appended to the QNH value.
Aerodrome Visual Circuit
YLKGB: Riga Ground, good evening, YLKGB with information A on board, QNH 1013, Diamond DA-42 on stand 471, requesting visual circuits.
GMC: YLKGB, Riga Ground, good evening, information A is correct, stand by for your clearance.
GMC relays the request to TWR and receives the clearance.
GMC:YLKGB, are you ready to copy your clearance?YLKGB: Affirm, YLKGB.GMC: YLKGB, cleared for right-hand visual circuit, runway 36, not below 1500FT, squawk 0060.
YLKGB: cleared for right-hand visual circuit, runway 36, not below 1500FT, squawk 0060, YLKGB.
YLKGB, Your readback is correct(, start-up approved).Directional VFR Departure
YLKGB: Riga Ground, good evening, YLKGB with information A on board, QNH 1013, Diamond DA-42 on stand 471, requesting VFR departure to the north, requesting exit point KAGAL.
GMC: YLKGB, Riga Ground, good evening, information A is correct, stand by for your clearance.
GMC relays the request to TWR and receives the clearance.
GMC:YLKGB, are you ready to copy your clearance?YLKGB: Affirm, YLKGB.GMC: YLKGB, cleared VFR departure to the north, runway 36, expect to exit the controlled airspace via KAGAL, remain at or below 1500FT, squawk 0060.
YLKGB: cleared VFR departure to the north, runway 36, expect to exit the controlled airspace via KAGAL, remain at or below 1500FT, squawk 0060, YLKGB.
YLKGB, Your readback is correct(, start-up approved).Conditional Clearances and Give Way Instructions
Examples of Conditional Clearances
Riga Ground, BTI123, request taxi.GMC: BTI123, after company Airbus A220-300 passes left to right on TWY F, taxi to holding point, runway 36, via F and A, intersection B is available.
BTI123: After company Airbus A220-300 passes left to right on TWY F, taxi to holding point, runway 36, via F and A, and we will take [B/the full length], BTI123.
Notes:
- The keyword
companyas part of a conditional clearance means the ATCO is referring to an aircraft of the same airline as the recipient of the instruction, in the case above: Air Baltic.
BTI123: Riga Ground, BTI123, stand 106, request pushback and start-up.
GMC: BTI123, once clear of RYR Boeing 737-800 passing from right to left on TWY T, pushback and start-up approved.
BTI123: Once clear of RYR Boeing 737-800 passing from right to left on TWY T, pushback and start-up approved, BTI123.
Examples of Give Way Instructions
GMC: BTI123, give way to the RYR Boeing 737-800 passing from right to left on TWY F.
BTI123: Give way to the RYR Boeing 737-800 passing from right to left on TWY F, BTI123.
Workload Management and Safety
- In case a communication to a given aircraft does not require readback, the next instruction to a different aircraft may be chained using the phrase
break-break. - In case when there is a queue of traffic forming on frequency, it is recommended to issue sequence numbers to traffic waiting, i.e.:
BTI123, stand by, number 2 for clearance. - Should the callsign of a given aircraft be not known for any reason, they may be referred to on frequency as
station, i.e.:Last station calling, say [callsign only/again].– prompts the last station that called on frequency to identify themselves.Station calling for [clearance/pushback/etc.], say [callsign only/again].– prompts a particular station to identify themselves. Such an instruction is useful in cases when 2 or more pilots “step” onto each other on frequency thus blocking each other’s radio transmissions.