Filing Direct?

Since Eric is a working controller, I respect his advice. I was a little surprised when he stated that filing direct grinds controllers gears. With GPS capability, filing direct has saved me a lot of time and money. It was never realized that doing so was creating a problem for anyone. It was not done as a sign of laziness or to engage in a bad practice, but to get in and out of the ATC system as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Filing an IFR flight plan directly from origin to destination *without intermediate waypoints or routes* burdens controllers, requiring them to manually create a safe flight path around restricted airspace and obstacles.
To ease controller workload and avoid pilot delays, pilots should file specific routes utilizing Q-Routes, waypoints, or Victor airways instead of ambiguous airport-to-airport direct plans.
Conversely, filing direct *between specified waypoints* is an acceptable and efficient practice for both pilots and air traffic control, as is being cleared direct to a destination once already en route.

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Aviation Safety is greatly appreciated. I normally read it cover-to-cover, and it helps me not make too many dumb mistakes. The August 2019 article “IFR Route Changes” by Eric Lyn raised a question. Further clarification is requested.

Since Eric is a working controller, I respect his advice. I was a little surprised when he stated that filing direct “grinds controllers’ gears.” With GPS capability, filing direct has saved me a lot of time and money. It was never realized that doing so was creating a problem for anyone. It was not done as a sign of laziness or to engage in a “bad practice, but to get in and out of the ATC system as quickly and efficiently as possible.