EDDL - Düsseldorf Airport

EDDL - Overview

Düsseldorf is the largest airport in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth largest airport in Germany.

All stations at Düsseldorf require a Tier 1 endorsement. DEL and GND positions require the EDDL_GNDDEL endorsement which can be acquired by all controllers with an S1 rating or higher. TWR requires the EDDL_TWR endorsement which can be acquired by all controllers with an S2 rating or higher. All APP/DEP positions require the EDDL_APP endorsement which can be acquired by all controllers with an S3 rating or higher.

Training: Controllers with the S1 rating can staff TWR positions during their training (active EDDL_TWR solo endorsement required). Controllers with the S2 rating can staff APP/DEP positions during their training (active EDDL_APP solo endorsement required).

Düsseldorf ATC Stations

Station
 Station ID
 Login
 Frequency
 Remarks
 Endorsement
ATIS
 ADL
 EDDL_ATIS
 123.780
 --
 --
Delivery
 DLC
 EDDL_DEL
 121.780
 --
 Tier 1: EDDL_GNDDEL
East Ground
 DLGE
 EDDL_E_GND
 121.605
 primary
 Tier 1: EDDL_GNDDEL
West Ground
 DLGW
 EDDL_W_GND
 121.680
 --
 Tier 1: EDDL_GNDDEL
Tower DLT
 EDDL_TWR
 118.305
 --
 Tier 1: EDDL_TWR

Approach

 DLA
 EDDL_APP
 128.555
 --
 Tier 1: EDDL_APP

Arrival

(Feeder)

 DLAT
 EDDL_F_APP
 128.655
 --
 Tier 1: EDDL_APP
Sector Bottrop
 BOT
 EDDL_BOT_APP
 119.110
 covers DLD topdown
 Tier 1: EDDL_APP
Departure
 DLD
 EDDL_DEP
 121.355
 airborne frequency if DLD, DLA, BOT, or PADH is staffed
 Tier 1: EDDL_APP

Düsseldorf Controlzone

EDDL_CTR.pngDüsseldorf Controlzone (D-CTR) - © openflightmaps.org

EDDL - Delivery

Düsseldorf Delivery is responsible for enroute and startup clearances for all departing IFR aircraft. VFR aircraft have to call Delivery for departure information. For all departures (IFR and VFR) Düsseldorf Delivery is the first station to contact, except for police helicopters, which may also contact Tower initially.

Enroute Clearance

Standard Instrument Departures

Runway 23L/05R (SID Designator T and Z) is primary used for all departures. Delivery has to make sure that all SID restrictions are adhered to (Euroscope will display if a route is not correct).

The SID MODRU #K shall only be assigned on pilots request when able to comply with climb restriction (9.5%) and RF-Legs. Prior coordination with Tower is mandatory. Decision on short notice to the pilot by Ground or Tower is possible, depending on the preceding traffic (see Tower section).

The SID NETEX #K, #Y, #X, #U are mandatory for flights to continue via NETEX DCT RASCA or NETEX DCT DELOM.

To ensure an efficient operation within the upper and lower airspace several restrictions should be met (check FPC column in Euroscope). To solve an invalid route, the pilot usually has to file a completely new route (valid routes for many destinations can be found on grd.aero-nav.com).

Waypoint Restriction Climb

COL

Cola

 -- climb via
DODEN

min. RFL 260

flights unable for climb restrictions (see charts) shall refile via KUMIK

 climb via

GMH

Germinghausen

 max. RFL 140 climb
KUMIK min. RFL 150 climb via

LMA

Lima

 DEST EDLN only or local IFR flights climb
MEVEL --

23 Ops: climb via

05 Ops: climb
MODRU min. RFL 210 climb via
NETEX Only available at night between 2200LT and 0600LT and during weekends and holidays due to military airspace in the north of the EBBU FIR. Information about the activation of the military areas can be obtained from the EBBU controller.

#U, #K: climb via

all other: climb

NVO

Nörvenich

max. RFL 90

flights with RFL at or above FL100 shall refile via MODRU

 climb
NUDGO max. RFL 240 climb
SONEB -- climb via

Vectored Departure

Usually all RNAV capable aircraft that are available for flight simulators are able to fly a SID and most likely are looking for the wrong runway! If pilots nevertheless are unable to fly any SID (even an older version of the current SID or the LMA SID) a vectored departure can be coordinated between Delivery and Arrival. Alternatively the LMA SID can be used with vectors/direct to the first waypoint. 

Usually runway heading and an initial climb of 5000ft should be used. Other coordinations are always possible. Select the corresponding "RV" SID for this departure.

Local IFR

Local IFR flights are prefered via LMA SID (radar vector departure on request possible). Coordination with Arrival (DLA) prior enroute clearance as well as a startup release is required.

Local departures need to be advised to contact DLA on 128.555 immediately after departure.

At Düsseldorf Airport we offer Datalink Clearance to the pilots via the Hoppie System and the Topsky Plugin. The airport code EDDL should be used (already preselected).

An example of the DCL message the pilot will receive can be seen below. By default startup always needs to be approved separately.

CLD 2042 220117 EDDL PDC 026 SAS461L CLRD TO EKCH OFF 23L VIA MEVEL3T CLIMB 5000 SQUAWK 2055 ADT MDI NEXT FREQ 121.780 ATIS H REPORT READY ON 121.780

Startup

When startup clearance cannot be given immediately or the pilot is not ready for startup within the next 5 minutes, the pilot needs to stay on Delivery frequency until they receive their startup clearance.

Runway Capacity: To ensure smooth operations and an acceptable level of workload for following stations, Delivery has to ensure an appropriate startup rate. This can either be achieved by use of the vACDM plugin, or by adhering to a number of maximum startup clerances.

Delivery should ensure that not too much outbounds in the same area receive startup at the same time.

Maximim active Startup Approvals at the same time (status SUG until DEP) per active runway (use the vSID startup counter):
One active runway: 10
Two active runways: 13

Outbound Taxi Times: The average time between startup approval and takeoff clearance is 10 - 15 minutes during 05 operations and 15 - 20 minutes during 23 operations. 

EDDL - Ground

Düsseldorf Ground is responsible for all ground movements at the airport and can be split into east and west ground. If more than one ground is staffed, Delivery needs to be staffed first.

Area or Responsibility

The area of responsibility for each ground can be seen on the image below. The handoff between both takes place at Checkpoint 1 (M) or Checkpoint 2 (T).

EWG1PM, hold short of Checkpoint 1, contact Ground on 121.605.

eddl_aor_gnd.pngSector Split Düsseldorf Ground West and Ost

Parking Positions

Parking positions are assigned automatically for all inbounds according real life conditions by the Groundradar Plugin.

Terminal A is used by Lufthansa and Star Alliance Members for Schengen and Non-Schengen flights. Terminal B is only used for Schengen flights, while Terminal C is only used for Non-Schengen flights.

V01 should not be used as parking position.

The A380 can only use Gate C02A. Stands V08B, V11B (and V38B if all other positions are occupied) are capable for the A388, but are not included in every scenery.

Pushback

All Heavy aircraft are not allowed to push into the "terminal bays". They always have to push on taxiway T or P4.

In general only facings "north, south, west and east" are used. If traffic is instructed push on T or P4 this need to be specified with the clearence: "pushback approved onto P4, facing north".

Conditional pushbacks are not allowed at Düsseldorf.

Only stands V61 - V72 and V75, V76 are taxi out positions. All other positions (incl. V73 and V74) require a pushback!

To enable an efficient traffic flow, pushback onto Y, T, P4 and R can be used instead of the "terminal bays" for all medium aircraft.

GA Apron

Inbound traffic to the GA Apron always needs to enter the apron via taxiway H. Outbounds parked south of the gas station (in the middle of the apron) will exit the GA Apron via taxiway H, outbounds parking north via taxiway G. The GA Apron is limited to aircraft with a maximum wingspan of 29 m.

Taxiway restrictions

All relevant restrictions, aswell as the A380 taxi routings, are avaliable as a Ground Radar Map (Functions -> Maps -> Restrictions).

DE-ICING Areas

During 23 operations De-Icing Area East (V01 - V11B) is used and during 05 operations De-Icing Area West (V61 - V72) is used. The detailed map is available as Ground Radar Map.

** DE-ICING Area - West **

eddl_da_west.png

DP1 - max. Code E

DP2 - max. Code C

DP3 - max. Code F

DP4 - max. Code E

 ** DE-ICING Area - East **


eddl_da_east.png

DP1 - max. Code E

DP2 - max. Code E

DP3 - max. Code D

DP4 - max. Code C

V11B - max. Code F

Departing Traffic

Ground will assign the intersections for departing traffic. The pilot always needs to be asked if able for an intersection when not using L1 or L9. This also applies to L2 and L8. Intersections a pilot is able for should be noted in the remarks. Outbounds shall be send to Tower as soon as they are clear of any conflicts.

Tower is always able to change the intersection according to the current traffic situation at the holdingpoint and final. 

During 23 operations L1 should always be used by default for all departing aircraft due to the "short" runway available. Ground should sequence the outbounds on M by north/south or different SIDs when they are departung into the same direction.

L2 is only used for "faster following" or WTS if there is no prior possibility to get outbounds in the best departure sequence on taxiway M. Consider taxiway restriction for overtaking traffic on L2. When there is no benefit (e.g. one inbound between two outbounds), L2 intersection should not be used.

Intersection L3 can be used for general aviation, prop and turboprop aircraft, after confirmation by the pilot.

During 05 operations all departures should use L9. On Pilots request and if the traffic situation permits, intersections L6 or L8 can be used as well.

Usage of Intersections

Only intersections with a published TORA (see charts) may be used for departures, even if the pilot reports that he would be able for a different intersection. As an exception, helicopters may depart from every part of the runway up to the runway end.

Generally, an intersection may only be assigned to a departing aircraft when the pilot either reports by himself that he is able for that intersection or agrees to it after a controller’s request - regardless of the aircraft type.

Intersections should not be used if tehre is no benefit for the outbound!

Arriving Traffic

Vacating RWY 05R: Traffic vacating RWY 05R via via L1, L3 or L4 (after landing or crossing) are instructed by Tower to turn right on M and to hold short of the next intersection. The handoff to Ground will take place thereafter. This will prevent traffic to stop in the intersection and blocking the runway during frequency change.

It is not allowed to vacate/cross rwy 23L via L7 and turn left on M. 

EDDL - Tower

Düsseldorf Tower is responsible for all runways and the control zone (CTR), as well as Taxiways in between the parallel runways.

Control Zone

D-CTR of Düsseldorf reaches up to 2500ft AMSL. For details see VFR charts.

EDDL_CTR.pngDüsseldorf control zone (D-CTR) - © openflightmaps.org

Düsseldorf has three VFR mandatory reporting points (November, Sierra and Echo) that should be used for all VFR traffic leaving or entering the CTR.

To the west, the Düsseldorf Tower Control Zone is directly adjacent to the Mönchengladbach CTR (EDLN), which extends from GND to 2000 ft AMSL with its own VFR reporting points. All VFR flights from one to the other CTR should be coordinated. 

C-Airspace is lowered to 2000 ft AMSL over the Mönchengladbach control zone. At the eastern border of the Dusseldorf control zone, the C airspace is lowered to 1500 ft AMSL due to the proximity to Essen-Mülheim Airport (EDLE).

VFR Traffic: Northern traffic pattern is prefered for all VFR flights. Whenever possible VFR traffic should perform a long landing during 23 ops. 

Helicopter: Directly at the airport there is only one helipad in front of Hangar 10, in the far east, near the long-distance train station, which is used exclusively by the NRW police flight squadron (Hummel) and the federal police (Pirol). These helicopter are allowed to depart/land in front of the hangar and do not need to contact Delivery or Ground. All other helicopters need to use the runway for departure and landing.

South of the control zone, approx. 3 NM north of SIERRA, is the Düsseldorf University Hospital (UKD). The rescue helicopter Christoph 9 (CHX9) is stationed close to the northern border, approx. 2.2 NM south-east of NOVEMBER, at the Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallklinik (BGU) Duisburg. Here, a request to fly through the tower control zone can often be expected during missions. Further information see https://knowledgebase.vatsim-germany.org/books/practical-procedures/page/runway-change-guide.

Runway Usage

Düsseldorf Tower is responsible for the direction of operation. There is no preferred operating direction in Düsseldorf, so you should take a look at the METAR and TAF before making a decision so that you don't have to change runways at the traffic peak, especially during events. If a change is necessary, this should be coordinated with Approach in order to find a good time for the runway change.

Primary only runway 23L/05R should be used for departures and landings. In high traffic situations runway 23R/05L should be used for landing and 23L/05R for departing traffic (VFR and IFR).

Heavy Traffic: Runway 23R/05L is not available for the A380! Inbounds always have to land on runway 23L/05R.
If requested by the pilot, other heavy traffic (e.g. B747, MD11 etc.) shall also be given the oppertunity to land on 23L/05R, even during high traffic volumes.

Arriving Traffic

Missed Approach: For all published approaches, missed approaches will be executed as published, unless otherwise coordinated.
In the event of a missed approach, the responsible radar station must be informed (via Topsky or verbally). Any deviating action must be agreed in advance with the relevant approach controllers, except for actions by the Tower to reestablish seperation. In this case, the approach controller shall be informed immediately. The handover takes place once seperation is established. The next departure requires a departure release. 

Seperation: Düsseldorf Tower is responsible for maintaining separation, if necessary by use of adequate means (e.g. speed control), of arriving traffic from transfer of communication until touchdown and during the initial part of a missed approach.

Swingover: Visual swingover (visual approach) from runway 23R to 23L is possible when traffic permitts. Therefore the pilot has to have the runway 23L in sight, before beeing cleared for the visual approach. With the clearance for the visual approach the pilot has to be given a new instruction how to continue in case of a missed approach. Therefore, runway track and a climb to 4000ft shall be used.

Runway Crossing: Traffic landing on 05L/23R will have to cross runway 05R/23L, before being handed over to ground. Traffic vacating 23R via K3 shall cross the runway into either L7 and L6, depending on their assigned Gate and shall be handed over to either east or west Ground. This will reduce congestion around the Checkpoints and avoid unnecessary frequency changes. It is not allowed to vacate rwy 23L via L7 and turn left on M.

Vacating RWY 05R: Traffic vacating RWY 05R via L1, L3 or L4 (after landing or crossing) are instructed by Tower to turn right on M and to hold short of the next intersection. The handoff to Ground will take place thereafter. This will prevent traffic to stop in the intersection and blocking the runway during frequency change. Traffic vacating runway 05R (or 05L via K1) are not permitted to taxi into L2.

Departing Traffic

Seperation & Spacing: All departures must be separated by at least 3 NM or wake turbulence separation, whichever is greater. During 23 Operations, care should be taken not to send them out at exactly 3 NM. As not all of them start their turn at the same time, the radar separation can be undercut.

Tower has to ensure initial separation between departures and between departures and missed approaches. 
If seperation has to be restablished, for example in case of missed approach on short final and departing traffic already being airborne, transfer of communication shall take place when Tower has ensured this separation. Therefore it can be necessary to instruct a pilot to "remain on tower frequency" after departure. 

Departures with the same SID need to be spaced by at least 5 NM at transfer of communication.

Transfer of Communication or "Auto Handoff": Usually all departures on a SID have to contact Langen Radar according charts by it's own when passing 2.000ft AMSL. Departure frequency need to be published in the ATIS.

MODRU #T followed by the same SID requires 2 minutes seperation. MODRU/NETEX #T followed by #K requires at least 4 minutes seperation due to the shorter routing. The other way around radar seperation is sufficient. Depending on the outbound sequence on taxiway M it might be usefull not to use #K SIDs.

Lineup: Independant lineup is possible for all intersections with traffic information for the second departure. Intersection L2 should only be used if there is a real benefit for departures (see chapter ground). L2 is not available for lineup for A346, B744, B748, B777 and A388!

Special Lineup RWY 23L: In case outbound traffic requires the maximum available runway length for runway 23L, the pilot can request a special lineup via L1 (see image below). This lineup will take longer as the usual one. 

Special Lineup.png

Parallel Runway Operations and Runway Dependencies

Due to the proximity, the parallel runways at Düsseldorf airport have to be considered as one runway in terms of runway separation. Treatment as one runway means that only one aircraft may use either runway at any time. This excludes taxiing, line-up instructions on the parallel runway and clearances to cross the parallel runway.

For example, if there is approaching traffic on runway 23R, a take-off clearance on runway 23L can be given safely until the arriving traffic runway 23R is at approx. 3 NM (provided the departing traffic has already completed line-up). Depending on the approach speed, this 3 NM can also be undercut, but runway separation must be ensured at all times. This means that a previously departing aircraft must either have crossed the end of the runway or initiated a turn before the landing aircraft crossed the treshold on the parallel runway. The simultaneous use of both runways, e.g. for a northbound takeoff and a southbound takeoff, is never possible, regardless of aircraft type or flight rule!

In the event of a missed approach, radar separation must be ensured between two IFR flights. At Düsseldorf, due to the proximity of the two runways, this requires active action by the tower controller, who must separate potential conflicts and coordinate them with the approach controller.

The procedure "not withholding takeoff or landing clearance" can be applied, considering the parallel runways as one. With one exception: Since there are physically two runways and the rejected take-off does not have to be taken in to account, the landing clearance can already be given if the corresponding runway is clear. A take-off on the other runway must then be aborted if the runway separation can not be guaranteed. For departures after arriving traffic, the take-off clearence on the parallel runway can be given, as soon as the arriving traffic has touched down and begun slowing down.

Since the runways in Düsseldorf are less than 760 m apart, wake turbulence separation must be ensured.

Reduced Minimum Radar Separation

Minimum separation of IFR flights approaching the parallel runway system (23L & 23R or 05L & 05R) can be reduced to 2.5 NM, according to AIP, if no wake turbulence separation has to be applied:

Reduced Minimum Radar Separation for Diagonal Staggered Approaches (Based on NfL I - 9/09)

1. The Minimum Radar Separation (MRS) for diagonal staggered approaches to parallel runways at Düsseldorf Airport is 2.5 NM between 10 NM and the touchdown point.

2. The reduced MRS will be applied to landing directions 05 and 23, provided
the following conditions are met:
- Preceding and succeeding aircraft are approaching different parallel runways.
- Both aircraft are established on the final approach track.

Quote from AIP Germany/AD 2 EDDL 1-23 (by the German Luftfahrt-Bundesamt), applicable on VATSIM.

Low Visibility Procedures

LVO shall be announced in the ATIS (Code &lvp) and target spacing for arrivals shall be increased. Additionally, all traffic shall be told to hold at the CAT III holding points. RVR values will be given with the landing clearance and in the case of guided take-off (RVR ≤ 125m) with the take-off clearance.

Taxiway restrictions: At runway visibiility ranges (RVR) less than 350 m, taxiway K and L5 between RWY 05R and taxiway M are closed. Additionally, it is not possible to vacate runway 05R via L8 and runway 23L via L3 with runway visual ranges of less than 350 m.

Refer to this article for more information: Low Visibility Operations (LVO).

EDDL - Approach

Düsseldorf Approach is primarily responsible for all arrivals and departures at Düsseldorf Airport EDDL and Mönchengladbach Airport EDLN. If sector Bottrop (BOT) is not staffed separately, its tasks are also taken over by Arrival, which means that arrivals and departures to/from Niederrhein-Weeze EDLV and Geilenkirchen ETNG also are within the area of responsibility.

Arrival Sector Overview

The following two charts show the vertical and horizontal extent of the entire arrival and departure sector as well as the D-CTR and the lowered C airspace. In addition, the following neighbouring sectors border on Düsseldorf Arrival and the Bottrop sector:

SOPs_EDLL_EDDL_APP_AS.jpg

SOPs_EDLL_C_LR.jpg
Sector Düsseldorf Arrival incl. Sector Bottrop
 Airspace around Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf Approach (DLA)

Düsseldorf Approach (DLA) is the primary station and is mainly responsible for the Düsseldorf TMA.

In general, the arriving aircraft should use the transitions, directs or vectors. STARs should not be used as they all lead to DUS VOR close to the airport as initial approach fix. 

During a constant arrival stream into Düsseldorf on northern and southern downwind, Approach should hand over traffic with 6 NM or greater spacing per downwind to enable Feeder to create an efficient final.

The arrival controller is responsible for clearing the procedures, but can also delegate this to the centre controller by agreement (exception: PISAP/LMA arrivals).


DUS_Sektor.jpg

Sector Düsseldorf Arrival (DLA)

Winter-MVA: The 3200 ft AMSL MVA area south of the final runway 23L can be used down to -10 °C with summer MVA (3000 ft AMSL). The 2200 ft AMSL range around the airport can be used down to 0°C with summer MVA (2000 ft AMSL).

Dortmund Area

The area shown in red in the diagram is between GND and FL65 and is permanently under the responsibility of PADL for inbound and outbound flights from Dortmund EDLW. Düsseldorf Arrival must keep all its aircraft above FL70. For use with own aircraft below this altitude, an individual release from PADL is always required for each aircraft.

EDDL_deli_EDLW.jpg

Dortmund Area | GND - FL65

Feeder - Düsseldorf Arrival (former Director) (DLAT)

Düsseldorf Arrival can be split into two units to distribute the workload along two controllers with a lot of traffic. DLAT takes on the tasks of the feeder, while DLA handles the tasks of the so-called pickup. Both operate within the same airspace, so there are no fixed transfer conditions. However, certain aspects should be taken into consideration:

Sector Bottrop (BOT)

Sector Bottrop is responsible for the lower airspace approximately north of Düsseldorf and a small part above the arrival sector. In addition to arrivals and departures for Niederrhein-Weete (EDLV) and the Geilenkirchen military airfield (ETNG), its tasks primarily include through flights to and from Düsseldorf.

EDDL_BOT_Sektor.jpg

Border Langen Radar Sector Bottrop (BOT)

If the Bottrop sector is not staffed separately, it is taken over by Düsseldorf Approach by default.  

Flights through BOT: In addition to the flights to and from Düsseldorf, there are also flights in lower airspace and to destinations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The respective transfer altitudes are published in the respective LoA. Flights to Münster/Osnabrück (EDDG) via BAMSU must be cleared for the BAMSU#J arrival before the transfer to the HMM sector takes place.

Düsseldorf Departure (DLD)

Düsseldorf Departure is responsible for departures out of Düsseldorf EDDL and Mönchengladbach EDLN. According to the departure procedures, pilots have to contact Departure when passing 2000ft AMSL.

EDDL_DUS-D_05.jpg

EDDL_DUS-D_23.jpg
Departure Sector 05 Operations
 Departure Sector 23 Operations

Frisbee Radar (TNGA)

The military approach sector Frisbee Radar is responsible for all departures from Geilenkirchen's (ETNG) runway 09 and approaches to Geilenkirchen's runway 27.

The transfer conditions for all approaches to runway 27 must be coordinated individually with Frisbee Radar. Departures from runway 09 flying an SID will be handed over at the sector boundary at 3000ft at the latest, unless otherwise coordinated; for departures on an OID, the handover conditions will be coordinated individually by Frisbee Radar. Frisbee Radar always has to obtain a release by BOT for all departures.

etng_frisbee_tnga.pngCharts for military airfields are available within the german Military-AIP.

Potential Conflicts

05-Operations

23-Operations

Holdings

Holding below can be used up to FL70 if required. In case this holdings are required, traffic should hold by Approach and only the lowest inbound should be send to the Feeder. These holdings should be used only with caution as they are directly on the downwind sector.

Enroute-Holdings

As the above-mentioned holdings partly block the arrival sector and make working more difficult, published enroute holdings are preferably used for Düsseldorf.

Crosscoupling of Approach Frequencies

Düsseldorf Approach (EDDL_APP) cross-couples all other EDDL_X_APP frequencies via XC in Audio for VATSIM. This enables us to always use the correct departure frequency (published on the charts) when the approach/departure is staffed.

When EDLN is staffed, the controllers there must always be informed of the active operating direction in EDDL.