1.1 VFR flights shall be conducted so that the aircraft is flown in conditions of visibility and distance from clouds equal to or greater than those specified in Table 1.

Table 1
Altitude Band				Airspace Class	Flight Visibility	Distance from Cloud
At and above FL 100				A B C D E F G (See Note 1)	8 KM	1500 M horizontally 300 M (1000 FT) vertically
Below FL 100 and above 900 M (3000 FT) AMSL, or above 300 M (1000 FT) above terrain, whichever is the higher.				A B C D E F G (See Note 1)	5 KM	1500 M horizontally 300 M (1000 FT) vertically
At and below 900 M (3000 FT) AMSL, or 300 M (1000 FT) above terrain, whichever is the higher				A B C D E (See Notes 1 & 2)	5 KM	1500 M horizontally 300 M (1000 FT) vertically
				F G (See Note 3)	5 KM	Clear of cloud and with the surface in sight

1.2 For the purposes of an aeroplane taking off from or approaching to land at an aerodrome within Class B, C or D Airspace, the visibility, if any, communicated to the commander of an aeroplane by the appropriate air traffic control unit shall be taken to be the flight visibility for the time being.

1.3 The minimum heights at which aircraft may be flown are detailed at SERA.3105 Minimum Heights. For the purposes of SERA.3105, SERA.5005(c)(5) Visual Flight Rules at night, SERA.5005(f) Visual Flight Rules by day and SERA.5015(b) Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) — Rules Applicable to all IFR Flights, exceptions to the minimum height requirements are permitted for specific operations. See CAA Official Record Series 4 (www.caa.co.uk/ors4) for the current ORS4 'Standardised European Rules of the Air - Exceptions to the Minimum Height Requirements).

1.4 Except where otherwise indicated in air traffic control clearances or specified by the appropriate ATS authority, it is not mandatory in the United Kingdom for VFR flights in level cruising flight when operated above 3000 FT (900 M) from the ground or water, or a higher datum as specified by the appropriate ATS authority, to adopt any particular cruising level system. Such flights are advised to adopt the table of cruising levels for IFR flights as given at ENR 1.7, paragraph 6.1.

1.5 VFR flights shall comply with the provisions of ICAO Annex 2, paragraph 3.6, when operating in Class B, C and D Airspace. Flight Planning requirements and Air Traffic Control Clearances are detailed at SERA.4001-SERA.4020, SERA.5005-SERA.5025, SERA.6001, SERA.8015 and SERA.8020.

1.6 ICAO Annex 2 and SERA precludes authorisation for VFR flights to operate above FL 290 where a vertical separation minimum of 300 M (1000 FT) is applied above FL 290. Therefore, for aircraft operating as General Air Traffic (GAT), VFR flights shall not be authorised within the London and Scottish UIRs above FL 290, as described in ENR 2.1.

1.7 For the purposes of SERA.5005(c) Visual Flight Rules, VFR flight is permitted at night (see ORS4 No.1125 Standardised European Rules of the Air – Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Special VFR Flight at Night) in accordance with the following criteria:

1. if leaving the vicinity of an aerodrome, a flight plan shall be submitted;

2. flights shall establish and maintain two-way radio communication on the appropriate ATS communication channel, when available;

3. The VMC visibility and distance from cloud minima as specified in SERA Table S5-1 shall apply except that:

   1. the ceiling shall not be less than 450 M (1500 FT);

   2. except as specified in (v), the specified reduced flight visibility provisions shall not apply;

   3. in Airspace Classes B, C, D, E, F and G, at and below 900 M (3000 FT) AMSL or 300 M (1000 FT) above terrain, whichever is the higher, the pilot shall maintain continuous sight of the surface; and

   4. ceiling, visibility and distance from cloud minima lower than those specified in above may be permitted for helicopters in special cases, such as medical flights, search and rescue operations and fire-fighting.

4. In accordance with SERA.5005 (c)(5), VFR flights in the United Kingdom at night may be flown below a level which is at least 300 M (1000 FT) above the highest obstacle located within 8 KM of the estimated position of the aircraft subject to the conditions at paragraph (e).

5. The conditions specified in paragraph (d) are that the aircraft is flown:

   1. at an altitude not exceeding 3000 FT AMSL;

   2. clear of cloud and with the surface in sight;

   3. at a height not less than 300 M (1000 FT) above the highest obstacle within a radius of 600 M from the aircraft when over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons; and

   4. elsewhere than as specified in sub-paragraph (iii), at a height of more than 150 M (500 FT) above the ground or water, or 150 M (500 FT) above the highest obstacle within a radius of 150 M (500 FT) from the aircraft.

6. The Civil Aviation Authority permits, under SERA.5010(b) (Special VFR in Control Zones), a special VFR flight within a control zone at night in the United Kingdom.

2.1 Clearance for Special VFR flight in the UK is an authorization by ATC for a pilot to fly within a Control Zone although he is unable to comply with IFR. In exceptional circumstances, requests for Special VFR flight may be granted for aircraft with an all-up-weight exceeding 5700 KG and capable of flight under IFR. Special VFR clearance is only granted when traffic conditions permit it to take place without hindrance to the normal IFR flights. For meteorological limitations relating to the issuance of SVFR clearances, see SERA 5010.

2.2 When operating on a Special VFR clearance, the pilot must comply with ATC instructions and remain at all times in flight conditions which enable him to determine his flight path and to keep clear of obstacles. Therefore, it is implicit in all Special VFR clearances that the aircraft remains clear of cloud and in sight of the surface. It may be necessary for ATC purposes to impose a height limitation on a Special VFR clearance which will require the pilot to fly either at or not above a specific level.

2.3 A full flight plan, Form CA48/RAF2919, is not required for Special VFR flight but ATC must be given brief details of the call sign, aircraft type and pilots intentions. These details may be passed either by RTF or, at busy aerodromes, through the Flight Clearance Office. A full flight plan must be filed if the pilot wishes the destination aerodrome to be notified of the flight.

2.4 Requests for Special VFR clearance to enter a Control Zone, or to transit a Control Zone, may be made to the ATC authority whilst airborne. Aircraft departing from aerodromes adjacent to a Control Zone boundary and wishing to enter may obtain Special VFR clearance either prior to take-off by telephone or by RTF when airborne. In any case, all such requests must specify the ETA for the selected entry point and must be made 5-10 minutes beforehand.

2.5 ATC will provide standard separation between all Special VFR flights and between such flights and other aircraft under IFR.

2.6 A Special VFR clearance within a Control Zone does not absolve the pilot from the responsibility for avoiding an Aerodrome Traffic Zone unless prior permission to penetrate the ATZ has been obtained from the relevant ATC Unit.

2.7 Because Special VFR flights are made at the lower levels, it is important for pilots to realise that a Special VFR clearance does not absolve them from the need to comply with the relevant low flying restrictions of SERA.3105 Minimum Heights and SERA.5005 Visual Flight Rules (unless permitted otherwise by the CAA). In particular, it does not absolve pilots from the requirement that an aircraft, other than a helicopter, flying over congested areas must fly at such a height as would enable it to clear the area and alight without danger to persons or property on the ground in the event of an engine failure and that a helicopter, whether flying over a congested area or not, must fly at such a height as would enable it to alight without danger to persons or property on the ground in the event of an engine failure. In addition there are special rules applicable to flight by helicopters over London (see AD 2.EGLL AD 2.22, paragraphs 9, 11 and 12).

2.8 For the purposes of SERA.5010(b) Special VFR in Control Zones, special VFR flight within a control zone is permitted at night in the UK FIRs. (ORS4 No.1125 Standardised European Rules of the Air – Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Special VFR Flight at Night).

2.9  Radio Communication Failure Procedures

In all cases, notify the ATC Unit concerned as soon as possible after landing.

3.1 An aircraft which is flying within the United Kingdom with the surface in sight and following a road, railway, canal or coastline, or any other line of landmarks, should fly to the right of the line feature unless flying within controlled airspace in accordance with instructions given by the appropriate air traffic control unit.

3.2 ‘With the surface in sight’ means with the flight crew being able to see sufficient surface features or surface illumination to enable the flight crew to maintain the aircraft in a desired attitude without reference to any flight instrument and ‘when the surface is not in sight’ is to be construed accordingly. (Air Navigation Order 2016 Schedule 1 ‘Interpretation’) .

4.1 A Visual Reference Point (VRP) is an easily distinguishable fixed feature on the ground such as a windmill, pier etc. or a geographical feature such as a lake, hill and so on, which a pilot flying in good flight conditions should be easily able to identify. VRPs are established to assist Air Traffic Services (ATS) in routeing VFR traffic and to integrate VFR flights with IFR flights. Where VRPs are established outside controlled airspace, ATS staff should not instruct aircraft to hold over such VRPs. This does not apply to VRPs established within controlled airspace where a known traffic environment exists. ATS staff should not direct VFR traffic to fly directly over VRPs unless the IFR traffic situation specifically demands this.

4.2 VRPs are to be depicted in charts supporting aerodrome entries at UK AIP AD 2; they may also be depicted in Terminal Controlled Airspace charts at ENR 6. In addition, they are to be depicted on the CAA's 1:250000 and 1:500000 VFR charts by a blue box surrounding the name which is linked to the location identified by a cross within a circle.

4.3 Details of VRPs established at individual aerodromes are available in the consolidated ‘Visual Reference Point List’ published on the ‘Digital Dataset’ page of the NATS AIS website, www.nats.aero/ais.