Staying Current in the North Atlantic

Part 2 of 4 in the Gary Dietz NAT Series, first published in the Scott IPC newsletter in July 2026.

In Part 1 of this series, we highlighted some of the most common operational pitfalls business aviation crews encounter in North Atlantic airspace. Here, we focus on one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce those risks: stay current.

The North Atlantic is one of the most dynamic operating environments in aviation. Procedures evolve, operational guidance is updated, and new recommendations are published throughout the year. One of the biggest mistakes operators can make is relying on information from their previous crossing instead of verifying they are using the latest guidance before the next one.

The statistics reinforce this point. Oceanic errors have continued to increase over the past several years. During 2025, flight crews accounted for 74% of reported oceanic errors, while ATC accounted for 20% and equipment issues represented the remaining 6%. Many of these events can be prevented through better preparation, current information, and well-defined Standard Operating Procedures.

So where should flight departments look for the latest North Atlantic information?

Primary Resources

Every operator should be familiar with these primary resources:

• Aeronautical Information Publications (AIPs), including Supplements (SUP) and Aeronautical Information Circulars (AICs)
• ICAO Doc 7030: Regional Supplementary Procedures
• NAT Doc 007
• NAT Operations Bulletins

Operators flying the North Atlantic should regularly review the AIPs published by Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while NAT Doc 007, NAT Operations Bulletins, and ICAO Doc 7030 provide essential operational guidance specific to the NAT Region.

Secondary Resources

Secondary references, including the Jeppesen Airway Manual and the Scott IPC International Cockpit Reference Handbook (ICRH®), provide additional operational guidance. For Scott IPC customers, many of these resources are conveniently organized within the ICRH Resources section for quick access before departure.

The Gary Dietz NAT Series

• Part 1: NAT Gotchas: The Mistakes We See Most Often
• Part 2: Staying Current in the North Atlantic (this article)
• Part 3: Small Margins, Big Stakes: Preventing NAT Errors
• Part 4: To Track or Not to Track: Why the NAT Tracks Matter