AIM
4/3/14
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Departure Procedures
Section 2. Departure Procedures
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1. Pre-taxi Clearance Procedures
a.
Certain airports have established pre-taxi clear-
ance programs whereby pilots of departing
instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft may elect to re-
ceive their IFR clearances before they start taxiing for
takeoff. The following provisions are included in
such procedures:
1.
Pilot participation is not mandatory.
2.
Participating pilots call clearance delivery or
ground control not more than 10 minutes before pro-
posed taxi time.
3.
IFR clearance (or delay information, if clear-
ance cannot be obtained) is issued at the time of this
initial call-up.
4.
When the IFR clearance is received on clear-
ance delivery frequency, pilots call ground control
when ready to taxi.
5.
Normally, pilots need not inform ground con-
trol that they have received IFR clearance on
clearance delivery frequency. Certain locations may,
however, require that the pilot inform ground control
of a portion of the routing or that the IFR clearance
has been received.
6.
If a pilot cannot establish contact on clearance
delivery frequency or has not received an IFR clear-
ance before ready to taxi, the pilot should contact
ground control and inform the controller accordingly.
b.
Locations where these procedures are in effect
are indicated in the Airport/Facility Directory.
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2. Pre
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departure Clearance Proce-
dures
a.
Many airports in the National Airspace System
are equipped with the Tower Data Link System
(TDLS) that includes the Pre−departure Clearance
(PDC) function. The PDC function automates the
Clearance Delivery operations in the ATCT for par-
ticipating users. The PDC function displays IFR
clearances from the ARTCC to the ATCT. The Clear-
ance Delivery controller in the ATCT can append
local departure information and transmit the clear-
ance via data link to participating airline/service
provider computers. The airline/service provider will
then deliver the clearance via the Aircraft Commu-
nications Addressing and Reporting System
(ACARS) or a similar data link system or, for nondata
link equipped aircraft, via a printer located at the de-
parture gate. PDC reduces frequency congestion,
controller workload and is intended to mitigate deliv-
ery/readback errors. Also, information from
participating users indicates a reduction in pilot
workload.
b.
PDC is available only to participating aircraft
that have subscribed to the service through an ap-
proved service provider.
c.
Due to technical reasons, the following limita-
tions currently exist in the PDC program:
1.
Aircraft filing multiple flight plans are limit-
ed to one PDC clearance per departure airport within
a 24−hour period. Additional clearances will be de-
livered verbally.
2.
If the clearance is revised or modified prior to
delivery, it will be rejected from PDC and the clear-
ance will need to be delivered verbally.
d.
No acknowledgment of receipt or readback is
required for a PDC.
e.
In all situations, the pilot is encouraged to con-
tact clearance delivery if a question or concern exists
regarding an automated clearance.
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3. Taxi Clearance
Pilots on IFR flight plans should communicate with
the control tower on the appropriate ground control or
clearance delivery frequency, prior to starting en-
gines, to receive engine start time, taxi and/or
clearance information.
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4. Line Up and Wait (LUAW)
a.
Line up and wait is an air traffic control (ATC)
procedure designed to position an aircraft onto the
runway for an imminent departure. The ATC
instruction “LINE UP AND WAIT” is used to instruct
a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway and line up
and wait.
EXAMPLE
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Tower: “N234AR Runway 24L, line up and wait.”
b.
This ATC instruction is not an authorization to
takeoff. In instances where the pilot has been