9 APR 09

AERONAUTICAL INFORMATION CIRCULAR 4/09

PRE-DEPARTURE CLEARANCES
Introduction
Pre-departure clearance (PDC) is a system that provides instrument flight rules (IFR)
departure clearances
via data link to subscribing airlines at selected airports. NAV CANADA PDC currently uses
the 620/622
communications protocol, with service currently limited to ARINC data link service
subscribers. On or after
20 April 2009, NAV CANADA will be introducing the PDC 623 protocol, which will be
available to subscribers
of both ARINC and SITA.
Airports where PDC service is currently provided are Victoria International, Vancouver
International, Calgary
International, Edmonton International, Saskatoon International, Winnipeg International,
Thunder Bay
International, Toronto International, Ottawa International, Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau
International,
Quebec International, and Halifax International. Expansion of the service to additional
airports will be notified
via NOTAM.
Purpose of Circular
This Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) specifies the requirements for operators to
access PDC in both
the 620/622 and 623 protocols.
Service Registry Procedures
Current Operational PDC 620/622
Under the PDC 620/622 protocol, air traffic control (ATC) sends a clearance without an
electronic
acknowledgement, thus requiring a verbal read-back of the flight plan unique identifier
(FPUI). This is a fourcharacter (three numeric and one alphabetic) value generated by NAV
CANADA and included in the PDC
message. The FPUI is the primary element in the voice readback of the PDC clearance.
PDC 620/622 has been in use at selected Canadian airports for several years. To take
advantage of this
service an operator must both be an ARINC data link subscriber and be registered for it with
NAV CANADA.
Registration for PDC 620/622 may now be accomplished by emailing the following
information to
pdc@navcanada.ca:
1. Airline call sign;
2. Airports at which PDC service is being requested;
3. Aircraft types to receive the service (i.e. B763, B762, etc.);
4. Network Code: the address of your air operations centre (AOC) computer to which the
620/622 clearance message is to be sent; and
5. Confirmation that crews have been trained and are ready to accept PDC, or the date at
which
your airline will be ready to accept PDC clearances.
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09
Future Implementation PDC 623
PDC 623 is a request–response protocol with automatic system acknowledgements and hand-
shaking with
no verbal read-back required. The connection is established in three stages:
1. The pilot requests clearance electronically.
2. ATC sends the clearance to the pilot.
3. The pilot sends the clearance acknowledgement.
Unlike PDC 620, there is no registration requirement to use PDC 623: Operators must be
ARINC or SITA
data link subscribers, aircraft must be equipped for PDC 623, and pilots must be trained in its
use. Once
these conditions have been met, operators may begin to use the service at PDC 623 airports.
PDC 623 – Procedures and System Messages
1. The pilot initiates PDC 623 by sending a Departure Clearance Request (RCD). The RCD
must be sent no more than 60 minutes prior to, and no later than 15 minutes after, the
estimated time of departure (ETD), as filed in the flight plan.
2. If the above condition is met the pilot will immediately receive a Flight System Message
(FSM) stating: RCD RECEIVED – REQUEST BEING PROCESSED – STANDBY.
3. Failure to comply with step one will result in one of the following FSM being received:
RCD
REJECTED – FLIGHT PLAN NOT HELD – REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES; or RCD
REJECTED – ERROR IN MESSAGE – REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES – RCD TOO
LATE.
4. Once ATC receives a valid RCD, it will respond by sending the Departure Clearance
Message (CLD).
5. Once the CLD has been received, the pilot will have five minutes to respond with a
Departure Clearance Readback (CDA).
6. Upon successful reception of a matching CDA, the pilot will receive a FSM that states:
CDA
RECEIVED – CLEARANCE CONFIRMED.
7. At any time during the clearance process, if the pilot receives a FSM stating to REVERT
TO
VOICE the data link clearance becomes void and the pilot should contact ATC.
8. The following are other examples of FSM error messages:
RCD REJECTED – REQUEST ALREADY RECEIVED – STANDBY
In this case the pilot has sent a second FSM. Only one FSM can be received and acted on
by ATC.
RCD REJECTED – ERROR IN MESSAGE – REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES
There was an error in the RCD. Do not send again. Contact ATC via voice.
CDA REJECTED – CLEARANCE CANCELLED – REVERT TO VOICE PROCEDURES
The clearance acknowledgement did not match the clearance sent. Contact ATC via voice.
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Further Information
PDC 623 is a new technology for NAV CANADA and will be tested operationally.
Information on the test site
and dates will be provided via NOTAM. Once operational testing has been satisfactorily
completed, NAV
CANADA will provide further information via NOTAM as additional airports become
operational.
Operators requesting further information on the PDC system or assistance in acquiring the
service should
contact NAV CANADA via e-mail at pdc@navcanada.ca.
Rudy Kellar
Vice President, Operations
AERONAUTICAL INFORMATION CIRCULAR 4/09 Page 3 of 3