Operating in the North Atlantic MNPS Airspace

This paper considers the issue of operating aircraft through the North Atlantic's Minimum Navigation Performance Specification (MNPS) airspace. Noting that aircraft constantly strive for reduced fuel burn and uplift, it describes how flight operators and pilots conduct safe, efficient flights t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Navigation
Main Author: Whelan, Conor
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0373463398008091
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0373463398008091
Description
Summary:This paper considers the issue of operating aircraft through the North Atlantic's Minimum Navigation Performance Specification (MNPS) airspace. Noting that aircraft constantly strive for reduced fuel burn and uplift, it describes how flight operators and pilots conduct safe, efficient flights through the region. Reference is made to mechanisms of the North Atlantic MNPS airspace in terms of its Organized Track Structure and other routes that exist. These different structures emphasize the level of flexibility available. Flight planning procedures and requirements necessary to obtain oceanic Air Traffic Control (ATC) clearances are mentioned, as is an account of how communication and position reporting procedures operate to apply the Mach Number technique. Other aspects of MNPS operations such as ETOPS operational restrictions, meteorological effects, the employment of Reduced Vertical Separation Minima and planned regional changes aim to provide an overview of the MNPS system's current and future air traffic management.