PBN Regulatory Clarification and What It Means for IR Training
Performance‑Based Navigation (PBN) has been part of European instrument flying for many years. Today, it is a core operational capability, used daily across controlled airspace and reflected in the privileges attached to the Instrument Rating (IR).
What is new — and highly relevant for training organisations — is the level of clarity EASA now provides on what PBN training within an Instrument Rating course should include. This clarification is formalised in AMC1 FCL.615(a) Amendment 13, which introduces a dedicated Acceptable Means of Compliance describing PBN training elements and syllabus expectations for IR training courses.
For Approved Training Organisations delivering IR training — including modular and integrated pathways — the key question is therefore no longer whether PBN is covered, but whether current training clearly reflects these defined expectations across theory, ground‑based practical training, and flight or FSTD exercises.
