Introduction

This Circular replaces AIC 04/2025.

In order to manage airspace capacity during disruptions to normal traffic flows, EMIRATES ACC shall employ a procedure of temporarily stopping departures from specified regional airports destined for the affected airport(s) within the UAE.

Regional Airport Categorization

Regional airports are categorized into two zones based on the average Estimated Elapsed Time (EET) of flights destined for airports within the UAE:

The following triggers will initiate the stopping of departures from airports within the various zones:

• Trigger 1: The arrival delay for an airport within the UAE has reached 40 minutes and is expected to increase, EMIRATES ACC will stop departures for that airport from airports within Zone 1.

• Trigger 2: The arrival delay for an airport within the UAE has reached 60 minutes and is expected to increase, EMIRATES ACC will stop departures for that airport from airports within Zone 2.

• Trigger 3: An airport within the UAE is not accepting arrivals, i.e. blocked runway etc, and it is likely that the situation will continue for a prolonged period of time, EMIRATES ACC will stop departures for that airport from airports within Zone 1 and if necessary Zone 2.

• Trigger 4: Airport ATC deems regulating arrival traffic demand necessary. This shall be communicated to EMIRATES ACC who in turn will stop departures from airports within Zone 1 and/or Zone 2 as specified by the airport ATC.

In situations with prolonged severe disruption at one or more airports within the UAE and because of the predominance of long-haul and ultra long-haul flights, the tools above may not be sufficient. When maximum holding capacity is reached, EMIRATES ACC will deny entry into the EMIRATES FIR traffic destined for the airport(s) experiencing the disruption. Adjacent ACCs will be instructed to hold traffic within their FIR and will be informed as to when such traffic will be accepted by EMIRATES ACC. Acceptance of such traffic will be determined by EMIRATES ACC holding capacity. Traffic will be allowed entry into the FIR at a rate equivalent to the rate that the downstream unit is accepting, ensuring that EMIRATES ACC holding capacity is fully utilized.

Notification of stopping and resuming departures

Once the decision to stop or resume departures from any of the zones has been made, EMIRATES ACC will notify the concerned airports by means of AFTN. EMIRATES ACC will also telephonically coordinate with adjacent units and request the information to be passed on to the respective airport(s) and/or forwarded to the appropriate adjacent unit(s). Reference to the zones will not be made, individual airports will be listed.

If the decision to stop departures from any zone was made by EMIRATES ACC, the appropriate UAE approach unit will be informed.

Resuming departures from the zones

Airport ATC may inform EMIRATES ACC that they request the departures be resumed, however the decision to resume departures ultimately lies with EMIRATES ACC as airport ATC will not necessarily be aware of the impact on EMIRATES ACC operations.

When resuming departures from the zones, consideration will be given as to how this will impact the already scheduled traffic at the time. The time of the day, the reason for the stopping of departures or when the next scheduled increase in traffic is expected are some of the considerations. Departures can be resumed by the closest zone first, by the closest zone last or all zones at the same time. The decision is ultimately a tactical one and will be made by EMIRATES ACC based on the circumstances at the time.