Originally Posted by
scavenger
Here we go again.
mmm345 is completely correct, just because an airport has no TAF does not mean an alternate is necessarily required.
AIP ENR 1.1 para 11.7.1.3
Means don't plan a particular airport as your alternate unless that airport has an aerodrome forecast that is not provisional. It says nothing about the destination aerodrome or the destination aerodrome's alternate requirements. It is in the 'general' sub-section' of a section titled 'alternate aerodromes'.
There is a list of airports that have TAFs normally issued in GEN 3.5 - these are the only airports that can be used as alternates, provided their TAF is not provisional.
Here is an excerpt from an email I sent about 4 years ago to Airservices to request an amendment, for the sake of not going through this on Pprune every few years (Para 59.1.3 is where the paragragh in question used to be)
And here is their response (via an 'SME') with my bolding
What they are saying is 11.7.1.3 means, if the aerodrome forecast at the the planned alternate is unavailable or is provisional, then a different alternate is required with a non-provisional (firm) TAF.
The rest follows simply:
No aid airport by day = alternate minima LSALT + 500 on last route segment and 8 KM vis, as determined from the GAF (which must be obtained for all flights) - navaid alternate requirements no longer apply by day (para 11.7.3.2 in the Radio Navigation Aids section), lighting and weather still apply with a different alternate minima
No aid airport by night (not greater than 5,700 KG) = alternate
No TAF airport (can never be an alternate), use the GAF/GPWT (which must be obtained) to determine the forecast weather and then use the Weather conditions section to determine if an alternate is required (see above if no aid as well, because if no IAL then no alternate minima on a plate, thus use LSALT + 500 etc), then lighting and navaids. But if an alternate is required, it must have a TAF that is not provisional.
Totally agree. Thanks for the inclusion of the email to back up what ive been saying for this whole thread , appreciated. This is what ive been taught over the past year or two and is good to see it backed up.
There is no reason why you must plan for an alternate at a no IAP no TAF aerodrome if the weather is blue skies CAVOK. The AIP supports this fact through the numerous references that have been presented.