Complexities you Could Face when Applying for an International Flight Permit

While some countries do not require flight permits, most of the countries demand an overflight or landing permit or both, when flying to their nation. These flight permits have different lead time, demand a different set of documents, and have different application system when applying for the permit. To understand flight permits, we discuss some of the most complex aspects of international flight permits for business aviation operators- 

Countries with long lead-time: Start planning a fortnight before. 

Planning a flight to a country, where the permit lead time is not in hours but days, require advance planning and preparation. Landing permit for Australia for example takes 10 business days. Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority reviews aircraft documentation, to ensure everything is correct, prior to issuing a permit. While landing permits charter (non-scheduled commercial) flights flying to Italy with a non-EU registered aircraft may involve a lead time of about 45 days for a first-time operator. 

When flying to China..You might have to change your route 

The CAA in China requires 10 business days to issue landing permit for private non-revenue and charter (non-scheduled commercial) and four days for overflight permits. But these permits are route specific and might force you to change your route accordingly too. 

Failure to submit required documents: May lead to cancellation 

While most countries generally want a flight plan, or entry/exit point, insurance certificate, and similar documents, there are countries which demand some peculiar documents too.  

Benin and Botswana in Africa require the number of passenger & crew along with the nationality of captain for an application for both overflight and landing permit. While Venezuela requires a long list of documents that must be submitted, according to Venezuela’s specific requirements for obtaining a landing permit. In addition to this, you must courier certain original documents to the CAA in Venezuela. 

Working hours can delay your permit 

The lead time to obtain the flight permits may be less in the country you are fly to, but the issuance authority, commonly the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the country, issues it only during the working hours. For instance, in Burundi the lead time for overflight permit is 2-3 hours and for a landing permit, it is 4-6 hours. But it will only be issued during the working hours of the Burundi CAA which is 06:00 UTC-13:00 UTC. 

Want your permit during the weekend? Keep extra time in hand 

You’ve to be careful if you’re planning a flight on the weekend, as the lead time increases over the weekend in most of the nations. To secure an overflight permit for Nigeria you need 12 hours during weekends, while it can be obtained in 4 hours during working days. 

More than one authority might be responsible for your permit 

Genrally the CAA in the country is the authority responsible for issance of the flight permits, in few countries there might be other governing bodies involoved. Central African Republic has three separate bodies involved in processing the permit. Thus, we recommend to always take additional time in hand when applying for a flight permit there. 

Changes to the permit? It’s risky.

Few countries require a change in the permit if there is a change in the flight plan. For instance, in Ethiopia, you require a permit revision for 

• Schedule changes 
• Tail number changes 
• Changes in departure/arrival points 

And the official lead time for revision in Ethiopia is minimum 12 hours. The revision of overflight and landing permit in Botswana requires 24 hours & on weekends 48 hours. 

It is highly advisable to use a reliable flight support provider for obtaining your flight permits, not only to the challenging ones but to all. Flight support provider with their strong network with CAAs around the world can obtain the permits without any hassles, and usually in less than the lead time. 

Looking for a someone to take care of your flight permits? Look no further than iJET for your flight permit requirements. Along with efficient services, we are able to get overflight and landing permits to most of the countries on a short notice too. Contact iJET today to know how we always deliver your permits on time.