10/5/23 

AIM 

EXAMPLE

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DCT APN J177 LEXOR/N0467F380 J177 TAM/N0464F390 J177 

6. Delay En Route (Item 15, Item 18 DLE/) 

(a) 

ICAO defines Item 18 DLE/ to provide information about a delay en route. International flights with 

a delay outside U.S. domestic airspace should indicate the place and duration of the delay in Item 18 DLE/. The 

delay is expressed by a fix identifier followed by the duration in hours (H) and minutes (M), HHMM. 

EXAMPLE

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DLE/EMI0140 

(b) 

U.S. ATC systems will accept but not process information in DLE/. Therefore, for flights in the lower 

48 states, it is preferable to include the delay as part of the route (Item 15). Delay in this format is specified by 

an oblique stroke (/) followed by the letter D, followed by 2 digits for hours (H) of delay, followed by a plus sign 

(+), followed by 2 digits for minutes (M) of delay: /DHH+MM. 

EXAMPLE

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DCT EMI/D01+40 DCT MAPEL/D00+30 V143 DELRO DCT 

7. Destination Airport (Item 16, Item 18 DEST/) 

(a) 

Enter the destination airport. The airport should be identified using the four

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letter location identifier 

from FAA Order JO 7350.9, Location Identifiers, or from ICAO Document 7910. FSS and FAA contracted flight 

plan filing services will allow up to 11 characters in the destination field. This will permit entry of non

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ICAO 

identifier airports, and other fixes such as an intersection, fix/radial/distance, and latitude/longitude coordinates. 

Other electronic filing services may require a different format. 

NOTE

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While user interfaces for flight plan filing are not specified, all flight plan filing services must adhere to the appropri-

ate Interface Control Document upon transmission of the flight plan to the control facility. 

(b)

 When the intended destination (Item 16) is outside of domestic U.S. airspace, or if using the paper 

version of FAA Form 7233

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4, or if the chosen flight plan filing service does not allow non

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ICAO airport 

identifiers in Item 13 or Item 16, use the following ICAO procedure. Enter four Z’s (ZZZZ) in Item 13 and 

include the non

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ICAO airport location identifier, fix, or waypoint location in Item 18 DEP/. A text description 

following the location identifier is permissible in Item 18 DEP/. 

EXAMPLE

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DEST/06A MOTON FIELD 

DEST/4AK6 
DEST/MONTK 

DEST /3925N07722W 

8. Total Estimated Elapsed Time (Item 16) 

All flight plans must include the total estimated elapsed time from departure to destination in hours (H) and 

minutes (M), format HHMM. 

9. Alternate Airport (Item 16, Item 18 ALTN/) 

(a) 

When necessary, specify an alternate airport in Item 16 using the four

−

letter location identifier from FAA 

Order 7350.9 or ICAO Document 7910. When the airport does not have a four

−

letter location identifier, include 

ZZZZ in Item 16c and file the non

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standard identifier in Item 18 ALTN/. 

(b) 

While the FAA does not require filing of alternate airports in the flight plan provided to ATC, rules for 

establishing alternate airports must be followed. 

(c)

 Adding an alternate may assist during Search and Rescue by identifying additional areas to search. 

(d) 

Although alternate airport information filed in a flight plan will be accepted by air traffic computer 

systems, it will not be presented to controllers. If diversion to an alternate airport becomes necessary, pilots are 

expected to notify ATC and request an amended clearance. 

EXAMPLE

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ALTN/W50 2W2 

FAA Form 7233

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4 

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 International Flight Plan 

Appendix 4

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19