A Complete Manual for Conducting International Flight Operations

Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure (SLOP)

Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure (SLOP)

SLOP stands for Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure and is a commonly used technique to mitigate the risk of wake turbulence and collision hazard while flying on an oceanic routing. SLOP may be used at the pilot’s discretion without clearance from ATC. At this time SLOP will always be either 1NM or 2NM right of course, however there has been discussion of allowing SLOP increments as low as 1/10 NM. This offset is applied in the OFFSET line of the FMS on the progress page.

If 2NM of SLOP is desired, the appropriate entry would be R2.0. The aircraft shall be carefully monitored to determine that it establishes the correct offset at 2NM from the track centerline. A couple of important notes about SLOP: although no clearance is required to initiate SLOP, the aircraft must be returned to the centerline of the airway at the oceanic exit point and the entry point. SLOP is not approved for all airspace and crewmembers must determine the acceptability of the procedure prior to initiating. Guidance regarding SLOP procedures is covered in ICAO doc. 4444, amd 2, 16.

 

Current Areas Where SLOP is Authorized:

 

  • Africa, various locations (according to the Jeppesen Airways Manual / Air Traffic Control / State Rules and Procedures - Africa).
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  • Australia administered OCA (according to Australian guidance in Jeppesen Pages).
  • China, on routes A1, L642, M771, and N892 (according to China guidance in Jeppesen Pages).
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  • New York, Oakland and Anchorage Oceanic FIRs (according to U.S. FAA guidance).
  • Oceanic airspace in the San Juan FIR (according to U.S. FAA guidance).
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  • The entire North Atlantic Track Region (according to the North Atlantic Operations and Airspace Manual).
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  • The Pacific (including the NOPAC, Central East Pacific (CEP) and Pacific Organized Track System (PACOTS)) (according to U.S. FAA guidance).
  • South Pacific airspaces (according to U.S. FAA guidance).

 

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