Belgium relaxes flight plan requirements.

[Jan Olieslagers]

Received from the local Federation of Aeroclubs:

a pilot is not required to use the flight plan when planning FLTs from the Schengen area into non-controlled airspace in the Belgian part of the Brussels FIR.

Apparently this is part of the Belgian SERA implementation. It is the first time I see “Schengen” as a deciding factor for flight plan obligation.

I think our German neighbours might chuckle we are making some progress, coming on par with intelligent countries like Czechia and Poland…

BTW at the same time, all civilian CTR’s in EBBU FIR have become class D airspace, they always were class C. I don’t think it will make a lot of difference.

[Pirke]

Nice, so I can visit most Belgian fields there without filing anything

Are we still required to officially ask permission to enter the EBBU FIR?

Is this somewhere in the AIP?

[chevvron]

If departing from the UK, I would guess a FPL is still required as you are crossing an FIR Boundary.

[Jan Olieslagers]

@Pirke: it is supposed to be in an AIRAC amendment, but I must admit I couldn't trouble to check it out. But as for "requesting permission": when flying outside controlled airspace, you do not ask for permission, you never did - you did and do however inform FIS of your crossing the FIR boundary.

@chevvron: no, that is exactly the novelty: under certain conditions one can cross the FIR boundary without having filed. However as you mention "departing from a UK aerodrome" it makes no difference for you as long as the UK stays out of Schengen.

Mind you, it has been like that for a long while between Germany and several of its neighbour countries, CZ, PL, and more.

[bartonflyer]

Rather that we are not part of Schengen I'd think

[patowalker]

There is only one airfield in uncontrolled airspace that you can fly to direct from the UK: Kortrijk.