Can one IFR flight include multiple approaches and landings?
Learn how to fly multiple approaches on one IFR flight, request missed or touch-and-go options, and know when you need a new clearance.
Yes. In real-world IFR flying, one flight may include several instrument approaches and, with ATC coordination, missed approaches, low approaches, touch-and-goes or stop-and-goes before a final landing. State each intended outcome early. Landing and exiting the runway normally ends that IFR flight segment.
How do you request multiple IFR approaches?
Request the complete sequence before the first approach, including what you intend to do at each runway. ATC can then protect the missed-approach path, coordinate with the tower and fit subsequent approaches around other traffic.
- Plan the sequence. Choose the approaches, their missed-approach procedures and the final landing airport. Check weather, fuel, runway suitability and whether each procedure is available.
- Tell ATC early. A concise request might be
Approach, [callsign], request ILS runway 27 low approach, then vectors for RNAV runway 27 full stop. Exact phraseology varies by country and facility. - Specify the outcome. Say missed approach, low approach, touch-and-go, stop-and-go or full stop. An approach clearance alone does not authorise every one of those options.
- Follow the assigned missed instructions. ATC may issue headings and altitudes instead of the published missed approach. If going missed early, do not turn before the missed-approach point unless instructed or required for safety; the published obstacle protection is designed around that point. Our explanation of extracting minima and missed-approach instructions from the chart covers the details to brief.
- Reset for the next approach. Confirm the navigation source, frequencies, course, minima, flight-director modes and FMS sequencing. Do not delete the active missed approach until the new clearance is understood. For an ILS, review the correct point to arm APP mode rather than engaging it while intercept geometry is unsuitable.
- Confirm the final full stop. Before the last approach, make sure ATC knows that this landing will end the sequence.
ATC may refuse or shorten the plan because of traffic, staffing, weather or airspace restrictions. Carry enough fuel to abandon the practice sequence and proceed to the planned destination or alternate.
Which landing option should you choose?
Choose a missed or low approach for instrument-procedure practice, a touch-and-go or stop-and-go when landing practice is required, and a full stop when the IFR segment is ending.
| Option | Runway contact | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Missed approach | None | Fly the assigned or published missed-approach procedure. |
| Low approach | None | Continue over the runway and climb according to ATC instructions. |
| Touch-and-go | Brief wheel contact | Reconfigure and take off without stopping, using the assigned climb and routing. |
| Stop-and-go | Aircraft stops on the runway | Take off again without exiting. This requires explicit coordination, adequate runway and suitable aircraft performance. |
| Full stop | Landing followed by runway exit | The arrival normally ends the IFR flight segment. |
At a towered airport, the landing or option must be included in the tower clearance. At a non-towered airport, ATC does not clear runway movement, but it must still know whether you will continue IFR after the approach. Never improvise a touch-and-go after telling ATC that the approach will be full stop.
Can one IFR flight plan cover all the approaches?
A round-robin IFR flight plan can often support departure, several practice approaches and a return to the original airport, but the filed plan is not permission to conduct each approach. The accepted clearance and subsequent ATC instructions determine what you may fly.
Procedures differ between countries and ATC providers, particularly when approaches are planned at several airports. If you make a full-stop landing, exit the runway and later depart again, expect a new or amended IFR clearance. Multiple full-stop legs should normally be treated as separate flight segments even if they share an aircraft, crew or commercial flight number.
Do not assume the flight plan has been closed merely because the wheels are down. Many controlled airports arrange closure automatically, while arrivals where no tower is operating may require the pilot to report arrival or cancel promptly. Follow the applicable procedure for ending an IFR flight plan safely.
What mistakes cause problems during repeated approaches?
Most problems come from an ambiguous request or from changing the avionics before the active missed approach has been completed.
- Leaving the outcome unstated: ATC cannot tell whether you want to land, go missed or continue with another approach.
- Treating an approach clearance as a touch-and-go clearance: runway use still requires the appropriate tower clearance where a tower is operating.
- Turning early on a missed approach: an early turn can leave the protected procedure area.
- Replacing the active procedure too soon: loading the next approach can erase the missed-approach routing and holding fix when they are still needed.
- Carrying the wrong setup forward: stale minima, an incorrect navigation source or an armed mode from the previous approach can produce misleading guidance.
- Rushing the reconfiguration: after a touch-and-go, establish a positive climb, retract drag devices in the correct sequence and verify the assigned altitude and heading.
Default ATC in some flight simulators cannot negotiate this sequence and may mark the flight complete after the first touchdown. That is a software limitation, not a model for real-world IFR procedure; each approach should still be loaded, briefed and flown separately.
Can every approach and landing be logged?
Several approaches and landings may be recorded from one flight, but each must satisfy the logging rules of the relevant aviation authority. Flying on an IFR clearance does not automatically make every approach valid for instrument recency, and touch-and-go landings may not satisfy requirements that specifically call for full-stop landings.
Record the procedure, conditions, outcome and any required instructor or safety-pilot details while they are fresh. A consistent training-logbook method for flights and approaches makes repeated practice much easier to verify later.