Rules of the Air: Right-of-Way, Cruising Levels, Lights and Signals
What the exam tests
This domain tests Annex 2 rules that pilots apply without ATC prompting: converging, head-on and overtaking right-of-way, landing priority, semicircular cruising levels, navigation and anti-collision lights, and interception signals.
Core rules
- Converging at approximately the same level: the aircraft on the right has right-of-way. The other aircraft gives way.
- Head-on or nearly head-on: both aircraft alter course to the right.
- Overtaking: the aircraft being overtaken has right-of-way; the overtaking aircraft keeps clear, normally by altering course to the right.
- Power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft give way to balloons, gliders and airships; airships give way to gliders and balloons; gliders give way to balloons.
- Landing: aircraft in flight or on the ground give way to aircraft landing or on final approach. The lower aircraft has right-of-way, but must not cut in front of an aircraft on final.
- Cruising levels use magnetic track: 000-179 degrees use odd thousands; 180-359 degrees use even thousands. VFR flights add 500 feet where the semicircular rule applies.
- Navigation lights show red on the left, green on the right and white at the rear. Anti-collision lights warn other traffic. Interception signals must be recognised and obeyed.
Worked example
Two aircraft converge at the same level. Aircraft A is on the left; aircraft B is on the right. B has right-of-way. A must give way, typically by altering heading or level so as not to cross ahead. If they are head-on instead, both turn right; the right-of-way rule for converging aircraft does not apply.
Traps
Right-of-way is not priority for the larger or faster aircraft. Do not apply the converging rule to head-on or overtaking cases. Do not use the wrong parity for eastbound or westbound tracks.