This unit assumes executive responsibilities of ATFM for Europe which consists of strategic, pretactical and tactical flow measures.
The NMOC is responsible for:
In order to do this, the NMOC applies procedures which:
Flights which do not adhere to their slots shall be denied start up clearance by the ground contoller. However, ATC shall make all efforts to enable departing flights to comply with the slot and flights shall not be prevented from departing due to small taxiing delays.
AOs shall be fully conversant with of and adhere to:
Specifically, they shall adhere to departure slots issued by the ATFM Service.
The general ATFM procedures for the ICAO European Region are published in ICAO Doc 7030, the Regional Supplementary Procedures, Europe and in ICAO EUR Doc 003, the ATFM Handbook.
Detailed NMOC Procedures can be found in the Network Operations Handbook. It is obtainable from the
EUROCONTROL Library
Rue de la Fusée 96. 1130 - Bruxelles, Belgium.
Tel:(+32) 2 729 3639
Fax:(+32) 2 729 9109.
ATFM measures are issued and forwarded by the NMOC via ATFM Notification Messages (ANMs). Information relating to the ANMs are notified via ATFM Information Messages (AIMs).
These messages are generally issued late afternoon before the day of operation.
These messages are received at the AO‘s offices which have direct contact with the NMOC either via SITA or a CHMI Terminal.
For those AOs who do not contact the NMOC directly, information on current ATFM measures (ANMs and AIMs) are normally available at the FMP Budapest. This information is also available at the ARO.
This slot is available in the form of CTOT two hours prior to EOBT. The slot is defined by a period of 15 minutes (-5/+10 minutes CTOT).
Note: Wrongful use of abbreviations for special handling requirements in the flight plan, which result, in most cases, in an exemption from flow regulation is regarded as a serious breach of procedures and will be dealt accordingly.
From the NMOC:
SAM | Slot Allocation Message |
SRM | Slot Revision Message |
SLC | Slot Requirement Cancellation Message |
SIP | Slot Improvement Proposal Message |
FLS | Flight Suspension Message |
DES | De-Suspension Message |
ERR | Error Message |
RRP | Rerouting Proposal Message |
RRN | Rerouting Proposal Message |
From the users:
SMM | Slot Missed Message |
SPA | Slot Proposal Acceptance Message |
SRJ | Slot Proposal Rejection Message |
FCM | Flight Confirmation Message |
REA | Ready Message |
RFI | Ready for (direct) Improvement Message |
RJT | Rerouting Rejection Message |
SWM | SIP Wanted Message |
Details concerning use and format of the above messages are published in the Network Operations Handbook.
AO‘s who want to establish a direct dialogue with the NMOC must agree a fixed an AFTN and/or SITA address with the NMOC or may require the installation of a NMOC terminal. In this way, all ATFM messages will be sent to the respective AO, who is then responsible for the whole message dialogue with the NMOC in the context of ATFM.
Those AOs, who cannot communicate directly with the NMOC, can file and receive all ATFM messages with the help of the ARO staff or the FMP located in the ACC Budapest.
The following procedures shall be observed:
If the delay is caused by ATFM measures, this must be pointed out to the ARO so that the delay message (DLA) can be transmitted correctly.
After having received a SAM, whenever an aircraft indicates that its flight is in a ready situation, it may ask the TWR to send a Ready Message (RDY) to the NMOC. Any potential improvement which could be given to this flight will be made by the NMOC through the transmission of a Slot Revision Message (SRM). The TWR will pass the SRM to the pilot as soon as it has been received from the NMOC. The NMOC will stop the process if the indicated MINLINEUP time is not long enough for the flight to be amended.
Note: This revision will not be given a higher priority than other flights normally eligible for an improvement through the normal procedure SIP.
Hours of Operation: H24
Tel:(+361) 296-9183
Fax:(+361) 296-9152
Hours of Operation: H24
Tel:(+361) 291-1085
Fax:(+361) 296-6925