In November 2018, the Network Directors of Operations meeting endorsed the decision to stop providing the RPL service; this decision was subsequently confirmed by the Network Management Board. As of 27 March 2020, the service is now no longer being provided in the FIRs of the EUROCONTROL Network Manager area of operations.
The phase-out of the NM RPL service is in-line with the mission of ICAO’s Global Navigation Plan for CNS / ATM Systems (Doc. 9750) which is to cope with the worldwide growth in air traffic demands in the coming years. It will also allow pertinent information to be captured timely and accurately to facilitate prompt provision of air traffic services to enhance safety and efficiency.
With the termination of the NM RPL service, Airlines that previously used the service are required to file individual flight plans for each of their flights to the EUROCONTROL NM Integrated initial flight plan processing system (IFPS). This is to ensure that essential information such as aircraft registration, 24-bit aircraft address, capability / status of on-board communication, navigation and surveillance equipment, etc. is provided to the IFPS for distribution to ATS Units.
