Eurocontrol to prioritize critical vaccine cargo flights

Eurocontrol will begin prioritizing critical medical cargo flights carrying the COVID-19 vaccine over European airspace and transatlantic routes from Thursday, January 28.

Many flights transporting the vaccine require special handling and priority in order to protect them and put risks at a minimum.

It will be up to operators to determine which cargo flights fall into the ‘critical’ category and they are being urged to be highly selective in their identification of these flights.

Eurocontrol advises implementing certain steps in order to gain priority.

They should insert “STS/ATFMX” and “RMK/VACCINE” in Item 18 of the ICAO Flight Plan to identify any flight they have determined to be a critical flight due to COVID-19 vaccine transport.

This will assist the ANSPs in maintaining an appropriate level of awareness of these flights.

For flights operating over Canadian and US airspace, operators are requested to inform respective authorities well in advance to get priority.

Visit NAV CANADA or the Federal Aviation Administration FAA websites for further information about their specific processes.

For more information about Eurocontrol, click here.

For support with your COVID-19 cargo flights, contact UAS