Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control (AIRAC)
Aeronautical information is constantly changing: airspace structures and routes are revised, navigation aids change, SIDs and STARs are amended, runway and taxiway information changes. It is essential, for both efficiency and safety, that pilots, dispatchers, air traffic controllers, air traffic flow managers, flight management systems and aeronautical charts all have the same information working from the same information base.
This can only be achieved by adhering to the AIRAC schedule.
Schedule of AIRAC effective dates
Annex 15, 6.2 on aeronautical information regulation and control, specifies that important changes should be maintained by a predetermined production schedule. The schedule of internationally agreed AIRAC effective dates for the years 2020 to 2029 is given in the following table:
Significant dates
There are three significant dates associated with the AIRAC system, namely:
a) the publication date, i.e. the date at which the AIS sends out the information;
b) the latest reception date, i.e. the latest date for new, amended or deleted information to reach the recipients; and
c) the effective date, i.e. the AIRAC date at which the changes take effect.
Updated: 05 February 2021