About RAD Restrictions

RAD Restrictions is a free search tool for the EUROCONTROL Route Availability Document (RAD). Dispatchers, flight planners and pilots can look up any RAD code, explain every restriction cited in an IFPS REJ message, and screen a route before filing, without opening the RAD Excel workbooks by hand.

What you can do here

• Look up a RAD code such as LS5606A and read the original restriction text with its applicability, flight levels and time windows.
• Paste an IFPS REJ message or an ICAO flight plan on the home page to extract every cited RAD code and see why each one triggered.
• Filter restrictions by identifier, flight level, active time, annex or free text.
• Browse all RAD codes by state, or plot a route on the aviation map.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Route Availability Document (RAD)?

The RAD is the flight-planning document published by the EUROCONTROL Network Manager. It lists the route, airway, airspace and direct-routing restrictions agreed with European states and air navigation service providers, so that flight plans filed through IFPS respect airspace structure, traffic organisation and capacity constraints.

Who publishes the RAD?

The EUROCONTROL Network Manager publishes the RAD on its Network Operations portal, based on input coordinated by each state's National RAD Coordinator. A new edition is released ahead of every AIRAC cycle as a set of Excel annexes, which is the data this site loads.

What is an AIRAC cycle and how often does the RAD change?

AIRAC (Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control) is the worldwide 28-day schedule on which aeronautical data changes take effect. A new RAD edition applies every cycle and amendments can be issued within a cycle, so a RAD code can change or disappear between editions. Every result on this site shows which edition it comes from and warns when the next cycle is already loaded.

What are the RAD annexes?

The RAD is split into annexes. This site loads Annex 1 (area definitions), Annexes 2A, 2B and 2C (route, airway and airspace restrictions), Annex 3A (arrival and departure restrictions) and Annex 3B (direct-routing and free route airspace limitations), and always shows the original text of each row alongside its interpretation.

Can this tool tell me that my route is valid?

No. The candidate screen and the REJ explainer are advisory. They compare your route with the restrictions the parser could interpret structurally and disclose that coverage, but they cannot prove a route is clean. Only IFPS validation is authoritative.

How do I look up a RAD code?

Type the code, for example LS5606A, into the search box on the home page, or open radrestrictions.com/rad/ followed by the code. Several codes can be separated by commas. Every restriction card has a permalink you can share with colleagues.