The phrases
Departure, phrase by phrase
After Take-off Reports
Normally make this call after liftoff to tower or departure control when passing an important altitude. State any level or speed required by the SID. Use feet below transition altitude and flight levels at or above it.
Pilot
[station], [callsign], AIRBORNE RUNWAY [runway], PASSING [level]
ATC
[callsign] CONTACT [station] [frequency]
Pilot
Hyderabad Tower, SpiceJet 318, airborne runway zero nine right, passing three thousand feet
ATC
SpiceJet 318, Hyderabad Tower, contact Hyderabad Departure one two three decimal eight
Pilot
One two three decimal eight, SpiceJet 318
- During initial contact with departure control, read back the assigned climb level to verify that the applicable SID is being followed.
- Frequency changes must be read back, including when the controller has not specifically requested confirmation.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Conditional Line-Up Clearance
A conditional clearance lets you act after a specific movement you can see, for example after a landing aircraft has passed. It is only issued when both you and the controller can see the traffic, and it always names the condition first.
Pilot
[traffic type] IN SIGHT, BEHIND THE [traffic], LINE UP RUNWAY [number] BEHIND, [Callsign]
ATC
[Callsign], BEHIND THE [traffic description], LINE UP RUNWAY [number] BEHIND
ATC
VT-AIR, behind the landing Airbus, line up runway 28 behind
Pilot
Airbus in sight, behind the landing Airbus, line up runway 28 behind, VT-AIR
- The word BEHIND appears twice, at the start and at the end of the clearance. That sandwich is what stops a conditional clearance being heard as an immediate one, and examiners check for both.
- Read the condition back in full. A read-back of LINE UP RUNWAY 28 alone is a different clearance and is a fail.
- A conditional clearance never applies to an aircraft that has not yet landed or that you cannot see. Say NEGATIVE CONTACT if you have not identified the traffic.
- Only one movement may be used as the condition. A clearance is never issued behind two aircraft at once.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Frequency Change after Departure
Applicable when a departing aircraft leaves the terminal sector and is transferred to an adjacent en-route controller. Contact the assigned frequency promptly after the handoff so that surveillance coverage and communication remain uninterrupted.
Pilot
[frequency], [callsign]; then on the new frequency: [station], [callsign], [level or intentions]
ATC
[callsign], CONTACT [unit] [frequency]
ATC
SpiceJet 318, contact Hyderabad Control one three two decimal three five
Pilot
One three two decimal three five, SpiceJet 318
Pilot
Hyderabad Control, SpiceJet 318, passing flight level one eight zero, climbing flight level two four zero
ATC
SpiceJet 318, Hyderabad Control, identified
- Wait for the transferring controller to finish speaking before keying the microphone. Tune the assigned frequency and make contact without delay.
- If the new frequency stays silent after a couple of tries, go back to the previous frequency and ask that controller to confirm the frequency you were given.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Holding Point Report
Make this call when the aircraft is stopped at a runway holding point and ready for departure. Give the holding point designator and intended runway so the tower can arrange the departure sequence safely.
Pilot
[station], [callsign], HOLDING POINT [taxiway], RUNWAY [number], READY FOR DEPARTURE
ATC
[callsign] HOLD POSITION (or [callsign] LINE UP AND WAIT RUNWAY [number])
Pilot
Goa Tower, IndiGo 5231, holding point Echo, runway two six, ready for departure
ATC
IndiGo 5231, Goa Tower, hold position, traffic on short final
Pilot
Holding position, IndiGo 5231
- If preparations are incomplete, transmit: "[station], [callsign], holding point [taxiway] runway [number], will report when ready". Make the full report only when all required checks are complete.
- A "LINE UP AND WAIT" instruction allows the aircraft to enter and occupy the runway, but not to depart. Begin the take-off roll only after a separate "CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF" clearance has been received.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Immediate Departure
ATC asks whether you can accept an immediate departure when they want to use a gap ahead of arriving traffic. Answer only from what the aircraft is actually ready for. If you accept, you line up and go without stopping.
Pilot
AFFIRM, READY FOR IMMEDIATE, [Callsign]
ATC
[Callsign], ARE YOU READY FOR AN IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE
ATC
VT-AIR, are you ready for an immediate departure
Pilot
Affirm, ready for immediate, VT-AIR
ATC
VT-AIR, runway 28, cleared immediate take-off
Pilot
Runway 28, cleared immediate take-off, VT-AIR
- AFFIRM here is a commitment to roll straight through the line-up. If any check is outstanding, answer NEGATIVE and take the normal sequence.
- ATC may instead give you the forced choice TAKE OFF IMMEDIATELY OR VACATE THE RUNWAY. There is no hold option in that instruction. You either answer TAKING OFF and go, or you say UNABLE and vacate as instructed.
- Read back the runway number and the take-off clearance in full, exactly as for a normal departure.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Initial climb and frequency handover
Immediately after becoming airborne, when ATC passes a climb or transfer instruction.
Pilot
[callsign], airborne at [time], maintaining [level].
ATC
[callsign], contact [next unit] on [frequency].
Pilot
Delhi Tower, Skyline 345, airborne at three five.
ATC
Skyline 345, contact Delhi Departure, one two five decimal seven.
Pilot
Contact Delhi Departure, one two five decimal seven, Skyline 345.
ATC
Skyline 345, readback correct.
Pilot
Delhi Departure, Skyline 345, passing two thousand feet, climbing four thousand feet.
- Read back the unit name and complete frequency, using DECIMAL, before changing frequency.
- Do not switch immediately after your readback. Wait for the controller to confirm it is correct.
- On the new frequency, make an initial call with callsign, passing level and cleared level.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432, 2.8.2
Leaving the Control Zone (VFR)
Make this report as you cross the control zone boundary outbound on a VFR departure. It closes the controller's responsibility for you inside the zone and normally earns you a frequency change.
Pilot
[Station], [Callsign], PASSING THE CONTROL ZONE BOUNDARY
ATC
[Callsign], ROGER, FREQUENCY CHANGE APPROVED
Pilot
Delhi Approach, VT-AIR, passing the control zone boundary
ATC
VT-AIR, roger, frequency change approved
Pilot
Frequency change approved, VT-AIR
- Report at the boundary, not when you think you are close to it. The controller uses the report to release the airspace behind you.
- Read back the frequency change approval. If ATC gives you a specific station and frequency instead, read both back.
- Outside the zone the service you get may drop to flight information only. Keep your own lookout and your own terrain clearance.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Line up and take-off clearance
When approaching the holding point and entering the departure runway.
Pilot
[unit], [callsign], holding short runway [runway], ready for departure.
ATC
[callsign], runway [runway], [line up or cleared for take off][conditional instruction].
Pilot
Delhi Tower, Skyline 345, holding short runway two niner left, ready for departure.
ATC
Skyline 345, line up runway two niner left and wait.
Pilot
Line up runway two niner left and wait, Skyline 345.
ATC
Skyline 345, runway two niner left, cleared for take-off.
Pilot
Runway two niner left, cleared for take-off, Skyline 345.
- The words TAKE OFF are used only in a take-off clearance or its cancellation.
- LINE UP AND WAIT is not a take-off clearance. Stay on the runway and wait.
- Read back the runway, conditional instruction and CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF exactly.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432, 4.5
Line-Up Clearance
A controller gives this instruction to place an aircraft on a runway before take-off clearance. It is commonly used when an arrival must pass first or when the required wake-turbulence spacing must be maintained.
Pilot
[condition] LINE UP AND WAIT, RUNWAY [number], [callsign]
ATC
[callsign], [condition] LINE UP AND WAIT, RUNWAY [number]
ATC
Alliance 912, Hyderabad Tower, behind the landing ATR 72 on short final, line up and wait runway zero nine right, behind
Pilot
Behind the landing ATR 72, line up and wait runway zero nine right, behind, Alliance 912
- A conditional clearance names the traffic and repeats the condition at the end. Read back the condition, the instruction and the runway, then your callsign. If you cannot see the named aircraft, say so instead of guessing.
- Begin the manoeuvre only after the specified aircraft has passed and you can see the intended runway path is clear. If visual contact is unavailable, wait at the holding point and ask ATC to clarify.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Report Ready for Departure
Make this call at the holding point when every check is complete and you can roll the moment a clearance arrives. READY is a promise about the aircraft, not a request to be sequenced.
Pilot
[Station], [Callsign], READY FOR DEPARTURE
ATC
[Callsign], WIND [direction] DEGREES [speed] KNOTS, RUNWAY [number], CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF
Pilot
Delhi Tower, VT-AIR, ready for departure
ATC
VT-AIR, wind 280 degrees 8 knots, runway 28, cleared for take-off
Pilot
Runway 28, cleared for take-off, VT-AIR
- Do not call READY while a check is still running. A controller who has sequenced you on that word has to unpick the whole arrival stream when you are not.
- The runway number and CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF are read-back items. Wind is information and is not read back.
- The reply may be HOLD POSITION or LINE UP AND WAIT instead of a take-off clearance. Neither of those is permission to take off.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Request Turn After Take-off
Use this when your route or a training exercise needs an early turn in a direction the standard departure does not give you. Ask before you line up, so the controller can fit the turn into the traffic picture.
Pilot
[Station], [Callsign], REQUEST [LEFT or RIGHT] TURN WHEN AIRBORNE
ATC
[Callsign], AFTER DEPARTURE [LEFT or RIGHT] TURN APPROVED
Pilot
Delhi Tower, VT-AIR, request right turn when airborne
ATC
VT-AIR, after departure right turn approved, runway 28 cleared for take-off
Pilot
Right turn after departure, runway 28 cleared for take-off, VT-AIR
- A published standard instrument departure wins unless ATC approves the variation in words. Asking is not the same as being approved.
- The turn approval and the take-off clearance are both read-back items when they arrive in the same transmission.
- Fly the runway heading until the aircraft is safely established in the climb, then turn. The approval does not change the aircraft's own departure limits.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Stop Immediately (ATC-Instructed Rejected Take-off)
ATC uses STOP IMMEDIATELY only when something on or near the runway makes continuing unsafe, for example a vehicle or an aircraft entering ahead of you. The instruction is repeated with your callsign, and you answer with one word while you stop.
Pilot
STOPPING, [Callsign]
ATC
[Callsign], STOP IMMEDIATELY, [Callsign], STOP IMMEDIATELY, [reason]
ATC
VT-AIR, stop immediately, VT-AIR, stop immediately, vehicle on runway
ATC
VT-AIR, roger, vacate the runway via taxiway bravo when able
Pilot
Vacating via bravo, VT-AIR
- The callsign and the instruction are transmitted twice on purpose. That doubling is the marker that separates a stop instruction from any other call.
- Fly the aircraft first and answer second. STOPPING is one word for a reason.
- The commander still decides. Past V1 the safer action may be to continue, and ICAO phraseology does not remove that authority.
- Expect a vacating instruction and a request for your intentions once the aircraft is stopped. Tell ATC if you need the runway inspected or the brakes cooled.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Stopping (Pilot-Initiated Rejected Take-off)
Use this the moment you reject a take-off for your own reason, so the controller can stop the following traffic and start the emergency services if they are needed. Say it as soon as the aircraft is under control.
Pilot
[Station], [Callsign], STOPPING
ATC
[Callsign], ROGER, VACATE WHEN ABLE, ADVISE INTENTIONS
Pilot
Delhi Tower, VT-AIR, stopping
ATC
VT-AIR, roger, vacate when able, advise intentions
Pilot
Will vacate when able, VT-AIR
- One word first, the reason afterwards. The controller needs to know the runway is blocked before they need to know why.
- Add MAYDAY or PAN PAN in front of the call if the reason for the reject is itself an emergency, for example a fire indication.
- Tell ATC if the brakes need cooling before you taxi. Hot brakes after a high-speed reject are a real hazard and they change how long you occupy the runway.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Take-off Clearance
Use this exchange when the tower authorises an aircraft to begin the take-off roll. The explicit phrase "CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF", with its runway, is the sole permission to depart; neither a line-up instruction nor an earlier clearance supplies it.
Pilot
RUNWAY [number], CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF, [callsign]
ATC
[callsign], [station], [wind], RUNWAY [number], CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF
ATC
IndiGo 5231, Bengaluru Tower, wind zero nine zero degrees eight knots, runway zero nine left, cleared for take-off
Pilot
Runway zero nine left, cleared for take-off, IndiGo 5231
- Read back "CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF" together with the assigned runway. Finish the response with your callsign.
- If the take-off is stopped before the roll begins, the tower says "HOLD POSITION, CANCEL TAKE-OFF". Repeat that complete instruction and finish with your callsign.
Reference: ICAO Doc 9432
Practise a call
Say it out loud
The simulator runs the flight, two voices, on a clock.
YouHyderabad Tower, SpiceJet 318, airborne runway zero nine right, passing three thousand feet
ATCSpiceJet 318, Hyderabad Tower, contact Hyderabad Departure one two three decimal eight