Standard ATC procedures explained from IFR clearance and taxi through departure, approach, landing and runway exit, including essential readbacks.
Standard ATC procedures take an IFR flight from clearance delivery through ground, tower, departure, en-route control, approach, tower again and ground after landing. At each transfer, the pilot checks in, follows the latest clearance, reads back safety-critical items and changes frequency only when instructed. Exact phraseology varies by country.
In real-world aviation, this sequence describes a controlled IFR flight; it is also the model realistic simulator ATC tries to reproduce. Smaller airports may combine several positions, while busy facilities divide them further. Our explanation of ATC positions and their responsibilities covers those variations.
ATC procedure from clearance to landing: step by step
A controlled IFR flight normally passes through eight distinct ATC stages, although one controller may handle several of them.
- Prepare before transmitting. Obtain the weather and automatic terminal information service (ATIS), note its identifying letter, review the departure and have the airport chart ready. Filing an IFR flight plan does not itself authorise departure; the pilot still needs an ATC clearance.
- Obtain and read back the IFR clearance. Clearance delivery normally provides a clearance limit, route, initial altitude, departure instructions or frequency, and transponder code. The US-style mnemonic
CRAFT—clearance limit, route, altitude, frequency and transponder—helps organise it, but formats differ elsewhere. Copy amendments carefully and query anything ambiguous before accepting it. - Request pushback, start and taxi as applicable. After changing to ground, state the callsign, position, ATIS code and intentions. Read back the taxi route, assigned runway and every hold-short or holding-point instruction. Never enter or cross a runway without the required explicit clearance.
- Contact tower for departure. Tower may instruct the aircraft to hold, enter the runway or
line up and wait. None of those is a take-off clearance. Take off only after hearing a clearance containing the callsign and runway, then fly the assigned heading, altitude or published departure rather than assuming runway heading. - Check in with departure control. Report the callsign, altitude passing and assigned altitude, such as
passing 1,800, climbing 5,000. Departure may issue headings, direct routings, climb clearances or instructions to resume the filed route. The previous clearance remains effective until ATC changes or cancels it. - Continue through en-route control. At each hand-off, read back the frequency, change it and check in with the new controller. Maintain the cleared route and level while monitoring for amendments. A requested shortcut, climb or deviation is not approved until the controller explicitly clears it; if nobody answers on the new frequency, try again and return to the previous one if necessary.
- Prepare for arrival and approach. Obtain the destination ATIS, brief the expected arrival and approach, then follow authorised descent, speed and routing instructions.
Expect the ILSis planning information, not an approach clearance. Once cleared for an instrument or visual approach, comply with its conditions and contact tower when instructed. - Land, vacate and contact ground. Tower may clear the aircraft to land, tell it to continue or instruct it to go around. After touchdown, vacate using the assigned or first suitable exit unless told otherwise. The runway is not clear until the entire aircraft has passed the holding-position marking; then follow the local frequency-transfer procedure and obtain taxi clearance to parking.
Simulator pilots can place these radio stages within the wider IFR flight-planning and approach workflow. Built-in ATC may merge positions or omit realistic readbacks, but the operational sequence remains a useful training structure.
Which ATC words give permission to proceed?
Only an explicit clearance authorises the associated action; words such as expect, stand by and continue are not substitutes.
| ATC phrase | What it means |
|---|---|
Stand by | Wait for ATC to return to you; no request has been approved. |
Expect... | Plan for the stated route, level or approach, but continue under the existing clearance. |
Line up and wait | Enter the specified runway and hold in position; do not take off. |
Cleared for the approach | Fly the named approach within the clearance and procedure; this is not permission to land. |
Continue approach | Keep approaching, but do not land unless a landing clearance follows. |
Cleared to land | Landing is authorised on the specified runway, provided it remains safe to do so. |
Contact | Change to the stated frequency and call the next controller. Monitor normally means change frequency and listen unless called. |
Which ATC instructions must pilots read back?
Readback rules vary between jurisdictions, but every safety-critical clearance should be repeated accurately with the aircraft callsign.
- IFR route clearances and amendments
- Assigned altitudes, headings and speed restrictions
- Runway assignments, take-off and landing clearances
- Runway entry, crossing and hold-short instructions
- Approach clearances and missed-approach instructions
- Transponder codes, pressure settings and frequency changes when required
Roger only confirms that a transmission was received; it does not replace a required readback. If ATC corrects part of a readback, repeat the corrected item. A mistake we see often in simulation is acknowledging a long taxi or route clearance from memory rather than writing it down.
Does the same ATC sequence apply to VFR flights?
Only the airport portions are normally the same for VFR flights.
A VFR pilot may still use ground and tower for taxi, take-off and landing, but will not usually receive a complete IFR route clearance. En-route radar services may be requested where available, and controlled-airspace entry requirements depend on the airspace class and national rules. At an uncontrolled aerodrome, pilots use the published traffic procedure and radio broadcasts rather than receiving clearances from ATC.
What if a pilot cannot comply with an ATC instruction?
Say unable immediately, give a brief operational reason when useful and request a workable alternative.
The pilot in command remains responsible for terrain clearance, fuel, weather, aircraft limitations and safe operation. A pilot may, for example, request another landing runway when wind, runway length or aircraft limitations make the assigned one unsuitable.
A landing clearance never requires an unsafe landing. If the approach becomes unstable, the runway is obstructed or ATC orders a missed approach, go around and follow the controller’s instructions or the applicable missed-approach procedure. The practical decision points are covered in our guidance on when to abandon a landing and go around.