Implementation of reduced vertical separation minima across the Middle East region is set to be completed next month if Iraqi airspace authorities hold to a revised schedule to join the scheme.
The latest meeting of the ICAO Baghdad flight information region RVSM implementation working group has put forward a new date, 10 March 2011, for introducing reduced-separation cutover.
This would impose a 1,000ft minimum vertical separation between aircraft cruising at flight levels from 290 to 410ft. The working group fixed the planned cutover date at its latest meeting in Egypt.
It had previously set a provisional transition date of 18 November last year.
Although the Middle East region switched to RVSM in 2003, the security situation in Iraq held up the process for the Baghdad FIR.
This has caused operational difficulties owing to the lack of continuity with adjacent airspace, with aircraft allocated to 10 RVSM levels having to be redistributed among just five non-RVSM altitudes, and with many flights being instructed to remain above flight level 300.
Flights to and from Kuwait, in particular, have previously been affected and IATA has been assisting for several years with efforts to resolve the issue.
Source: Flight International
