Dear colleagues,

the summer season is approaching which will also bring about an increase in VFR traffic around our destination and
alternate aerodromes - especially during fair weather and on weekends.
Unfortunately the German airspace structure protects IFR flights only above FL100 (FL130 in the alpine area) by a class
C airspace. Below FL 100 only the major airports are surrounded by a continuous class D and/or C airspace between
the control zone and FL100. In some cases, however, even this continuous airspace has been laterally underdesigned
potentially leading in some cases to a transition through unprotected class E airspace during a constant descend.

Smaller and regional airports have either a protected airspace (D and/or C) above the control zone not reaching all the
way up to FL100 (ending between 4500ft and FL75 depending on the airport) or no protected airspace at all!

Any airspace below FL100 that is not D or C is class E airspace which allows VFR traffic to operate without
clearances, radio contact, transponder and separation from IFR traffic.

This mixed VFR/IFR traffic concept in class E airspace has been causing air proximities since years. Condor itself had a
close call with two gliders during in approach into Dresden (DRS/EDDC) last summer. The estimated distance between
our 757 and the closest glider was 200m.

With this publication we’d like you make you aware of the problem in general and of the “hot spots” in particular.

Kind regards, your Condor Safety Department

Overview of the German airspace structure in general:

Quality of protected airspaces around commercial air transport airports:

plus Paderborn
 Condor relevant destination and alternate airports:

RED and YELLOW airspace classes above the airports’ control zone (N to S):

Bremen (BRE/EDDW) – D until FL60

Munster/Osnabruck (FMO/EDDG) – D until 4500’
Paderborn (PAD/EDLP) – TMZ only
Erfurt (ERF/EDDE) – no protected airspace at all
Leipzig (LEJ/EDDP) – D until FL75
Dresden (DRS/EDDC) – D until FL60
Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN/EDFH) – D until FL65
Nurnberg (NUE/EDDN) – C until FL70
Friedrichhafen (FDH/EDFY) – TMZ only
Approach charts contain a boxed note “Caution: Uncontrolled VFR TFC within class E airspace” for such airports.
Please observe that ALL of the above airspaces are laterally underdesigned! E.g. passing FL60 during an approach into
DRS/EDDC does not mean that you are automatically in the respective D airspace! Consult your approach chart for
lateral dimensions.

GREEN but laterally underdesigned protected airspace even though reaching up to FL100:

Hamburg (HAM/EDDH) and Hannover (HAJ/EDDV) have a continuous protected airspace between the control zone
and FL100. However, the widest lateral extension ends between 17-22nm.
A 5-mile TMZ extension has been added that nonetheless leaves the chance of transiting E airspace depending on
your flight path. Please note that in a TMZ radio contact for VFR flights is optional!

Example: HAJ/EDDV

widest lateral extension: 17-22nm

 Glider tracks during one(!) Sunday in July:
(cloud coverage prevented flying NW and SE of LEJ)

HAM

BRE

TXL
HAJ
SXF
FMO

PAD
DUS LEJ
DRS

CGN

HHN FRA

NUE

STR

MUC
 Right of way:

Please respect that IFR flights do not generally have the right of way over VFR flights. In airspace E the rules of the air
of the air apply to everybody in equal measure.
Explicit attention should be paid to the fact that lighter-than-air aircraft such as air ships, gliders, hang gliders,
paragliders, balloons and aircraft towing gliders ALWAYS have the right of way!
(Note that 25% of the world’s glider fleet is based in Germany!)

This applies not only if the IFR flight is on radar guidance but also if the IFR flight is on an IFR procedure. A deviation
from the procedure might be necessary to avoid an air prox.

As mentioned, be prepared for VFR traffic that is unknown to ATC. The only collision avoidance concept is “see and
avoid”. This concept has been proven to be of limited use only given the restricted field of vision out of an airliner
cockpit, the speed difference between jets and VFR traffic, the small silhouette of especially gliders and the “standing
motion” of another traffic that is on a collision course but which is undetectable for the human eye.

Mitigation:

In order to minimize the risk of collision, Condor has made some recommendations to its pilots of how to operate into
airports that are surrounded by an insufficient size of protected airspace:

 minimum clean speed below FL100 (gliders are exempted from the obligatory transponder usage
above 5.000’ msl)
 all lights on
 sinkrates of max. 1500fpm
 A/P on until established on final
 max. speed of 180kts when approaching a cloud base from above
 in consultation with ATC fly a “VMC corridor” around single clouds

Furthermore the German Airline Pilots’ Association published a “best practices” list that was compiled in cooperation
with some of the German airlines’ flight safety representatives. In addition to the above mentioned it recommends:

 consider airspace structure in ENG OUT procedures

 consider additional mitigation for TCAS inoperative / restrict flights into concerned airports or
advise ATC
 make maximum use of protected airspace – if ATC offers either vectors within protected airspace
or a direct onto the final consider choosing the first option

Reporting:

Reports about air proxes need to be send to the Air Prox Evaluation Group (APEG) directly where it will be further
analysed and processed. A “regular” report to the CAA will remain unconsidered.

Unfortunately, no official electronic reporting format is available!!

Please use the paper form published in “NfL 1-915-16”, which is also available from the Condor safety office on
request.