aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...

, a flight information region (FIR) is a specified region of

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is th ...

in which a

flight information service A flight information service (FIS) is a form of air traffic service which is available to any aircraft within a flight information region (FIR), as agreed internationally by ICAO. It is defined as information pertinent to the safe and efficient ...

and an alerting service (ALRS) are provided. The

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

(ICAO) delegates which country is responsible for the operational control of a given FIR. FIRs are the largest regular division of airspace in use in the world today, and have existed at least since 1947. Smaller countries' airspace is encompassed by a single FIR; larger countries' airspace is subdivided into a number of regional FIRs. Some FIRs encompass the territorial airspace of several countries. Oceanic airspace is divided into oceanic information regions and delegated to a controlling authority bordering that region. The division among authorities is done by international agreement through the

(ICAO). There is no standard size for FIRs–some are merely vertical extensions of their respective countries, however small they may be, while others may extend far into the open ocean–it is a matter for the administrative convenience of the country concerned. In some cases there is a vertical division of the FIR, in which case the lower portion remains named as such, whereas the airspace above is termed an

upper information region In aviation, an upper information region (UIR) is a flight information region in upper airspace. See also * Area control center (list) * Airway (aviation) *Air corridor *Control area (aviation) *Control zone A control zone (CTR) in aviation is a ...

(UIR). A flight information service and an alerting service are the basic levels of air traffic service, providing information pertinent to the safe and efficient conduct of flights and alerting the different relevant authorities should an aircraft be in distress. These are available to all aircraft through an FIR. Higher levels of air traffic advisory and control services may be available within certain portions of airspace within an FIR, according to the ICAO class of that portion of airspace (with regard to national regulations), and the existence of a suitably equipped authority to provide the services.

List of flight information regions

The following table lists flight information regions alphabetically according to their

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

code.

References

; Citations

External links

ICAO Aviation Data Service
(official site)
ICAO World Airport and Runway Map
(official site) {{Commercial air travel Air traffic control International law