Operations Control CenterMilitary, defence and state aircraft handling
C-17, C-130, A400M, KC-390, IL-76, tanker and government VIP movements across the Gulf, Middle East, Africa and Central Asia — MoD and MFA clearances, secure ramp handling, ordnance documentation, fuel and crew logistics under a single trip file.
A state aircraft is not cleared like a civil one. The approval sits with a defence ministry or a foreign ministry rather than the civil aviation authority, the airfield often issues its own separate prior permission, and the ramp has to be secure, correctly equipped and — on a movement carrying weapons or sensitive equipment — approved for the class before the aircraft is anywhere near it. LFS runs all of that as one file, with one desk and one point of contact.
- 01Establish who owns the clearance
A state aircraft is not cleared by the civil aviation authority alone. Depending on the receiving state, approval sits with the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the defence attaché at the sending mission, or all three in sequence. We identify the owning channel for every state on the routing before a single application leaves the desk — mis-routed requests are the most common cause of a movement slipping its window.
- 02Note verbale and diplomatic clearance package
We prepare the documentation the sending mission submits: flight details, crew and passenger composition, mission purpose, aircraft registration and type, and — where carried — weapons, ammunition, equipment and sensitive-payload declarations, in the format the receiving state expects rather than a generic template.
- 03Civil permit filed in parallel
Several states require a civil overflight or landing permit alongside the defence clearance for the same movement. We file both rather than assume one covers the other, and we track each approval separately so a movement never departs with half its paperwork in place.
- 04Airfield-level approval: Mil-PPR, slots and parking
Joint-use and military-controlled fields issue their own prior permission, separate from state clearance. We obtain Mil-PPR or base access approval, secure the stand, and confirm the parking area is one the operator's security posture allows.
- 05Amendments and validity tracking
Defence programmes move. Registration changes, crew swaps, added sectors and slipped dates all require a re-file at most authorities. We hold the clearance file live for the duration of the deployment and re-file rather than rely on goodwill at the FIR boundary.
Rear-ramp self-offload, minimal GSE dependency, but needs a pavement-checked stand and a wide manoeuvring area. Confirm PCN and turning circle before the slot is filed.
Rear ramp, self-contained APU start, limited loader dependency. The usual constraint is ramp space at congested civil fields rather than aircraft performance.
Rear ramp with kneeling capability. Needs high-flow refuelling and a stand clear enough for propeller arcs and ground running.
Rear ramp, standard jet servicing, single-point pressure refuelling. Widely compatible with civil ground support.
Rear ramp with onboard winches and gantry cranes. Russian-language ground coordination, noise-compliance checks at Stage 4 restricted fields, and curfew waivers are the usual critical path.
Wide-body stand and high-volume fuel uplift; deployment transits usually require overnight parking and crew hotac coordination.
Royal, Amiri or executive terminal access with protocol and security escort, handled to VVIP standard rather than general aviation standard.
Remote or segregated stand allocation, liaison with airfield base defence and airport security, airside access passes for the visiting security element, sterile disembarkation zones and controlled access to the aircraft during the turnaround.
Declarations for weapons carried on board, ammunition, pyrotechnics and Class 1 explosives where the station and operator are approved for the class. We confirm acceptance against the specific UN numbers, prepare and check the NOTOC, verify segregation and notify the authority where the class requires it.
Into-plane Jet A-1 with FSII (anti-icing additive) where the airframe requires it, sovereign and government fuel-release handling, contract and fuel-card settlement, and high-flow uplift arranged against the actual turnaround time rather than the published one.
High-capacity ground power, air start units, high-pressure nitrogen and oxygen servicing, hydraulic replenishment, main-deck and rear-ramp loading equipment, and towing capable of the airframe's weight class — confirmed available at the station before the movement is committed.
Military ID and NATO-style travel order processing where the state accepts it, crew and mission-personnel immigration clearance, vetted hotac, secure airside transport and per-diem and local settlement support for extended deployments.
Movement details are restricted to the named LFS desk handling the trip and the specific authorities required to deliver it. Manifests are not circulated to general charter desks, state movements are not published to tracking or marketing channels, and records are retained only to the regulatory minimum.
Weapons and munitions are the single most common reason a state movement is refused on the ramp or turned back at a transit stop — almost always because something was carried without being declared, or declared without the quantity the station actually approves against. Everything below is confirmed per movement, per state and per stand before the aircraft is committed.
- 01Weapons-on-board declaration
Every firearm on the aircraft is declared before departure, whether it belongs to the crew, a close-protection detail or the cargo. We record make, type, calibre, serial number and the exact round count per weapon, name the responsible custodian, and state where the weapons and ammunition are stowed in flight — armoury case, hold or under detail control.
- 02Transit and overflight state permissions
Carriage of arms is approved by the state, not the airport. A weapon lawfully carried on departure can make the aircraft inadmissible two FIRs later. We obtain written carriage approval from every landing state and, where the state requires it for armed aircraft or armed details, from the overflight states as well.
- 03Class 1 classification and Net Explosive Quantity
Munitions are declared by UN number, division and compatibility group, with the Net Explosive Quantity stated per package and as an aircraft total. Stations and stands carry NEQ ceilings; a movement is accepted against that figure, so an understated or missing NEQ is the usual reason an approval is withdrawn at short notice.
- 04Parallel MoD, MoI and civil DG approval
Arms and munitions typically need the defence ministry for the movement, the interior ministry or police for the weapons themselves, and the civil aviation authority for the dangerous-goods carriage. We file all three together rather than sequentially, and treat an approval as valid only when every channel has answered.
- 05NOTOC, acceptance check and segregation
We prepare and verify the Notification to Captain, check the packaging, marking, labelling and compatibility-group segregation against the loaded configuration, and confirm the handling agent at the station is DG-qualified for Class 1 rather than general DGR only.
- 06Stand allocation, RFFS and armed-detail protocol
Isolated or explosives-designated parking, a briefed rescue and firefighting category, a no-loading-while-fuelling sequence, and an agreed protocol for the armed detail on the ground: whether weapons stay on board, are sealed and bonded, or are surrendered to airport police for the duration of the turnaround.
Bombs, warheads, demolition charges. Accepted only at stations with an explosives-approved stand and an authority-issued exemption; most civil fields in the region will not take it.
Rockets, guided missiles, some artillery natures. Requires isolated parking, an agreed NEQ ceiling and RFFS briefed before arrival.
Propellants and certain pyrotechnics. Usually acceptable with segregation and a declared quantity, subject to station approval.
Small-arms ammunition, cartridges and signal devices. The most commonly carried division and the one most stations will accept with a correct NOTOC.
Packaged so any effect stays inside the package. Widely accepted, but still declared — never carried as undeclared crew or detail ammunition.
Acceptance of any Class 1 load, and of weapons carried on board, is confirmed in writing per station and per state before the movement is committed. LFS does not move undeclared arms or ammunition under any circumstances.
Defence movements fail on fuel for two reasons: the grade or additive the airframe needs is not actually available at the station, or the government release the crew is carrying is not recognised by the into-plane supplier on the day. Both are confirmed in writing before the leg is planned, not on arrival.
Jet A-1 base with FSII, corrosion inhibitor/lubricity improver and static dissipator. The standard NATO single-fuel grade for land-based aircraft; at civil stations it is normally met by Jet A-1 plus additive injection rather than a segregated stock.
Civil Jet A-1 to DEF STAN 91-091 without FSII. Acceptable for airframes that do not require anti-icing additive; the grade most Gulf and Middle East civil stations hold as standing stock.
Carrier-deck grade with a higher flash point. Rarely held at civil fields — where a movement needs it, we confirm availability at the naval or joint-use station before the leg is planned, and say so early when it cannot be met.
Injected into-plane where the airframe requires it. We confirm the station has serviceable injection equipment and a blend certificate, since additive capability is station-specific and not implied by the fuel grade.
Held at limited stations only. Surveillance, training and light patrol airframes are confirmed against actual station stock and drum availability rather than the published field data.
- 01Sovereign and government fuel release
Defence and state movements usually uplift against a government release rather than a commercial account — a DLA Energy authorisation, a national MoD release, an air-force fuel order or a host-nation support arrangement. We present the release to the into-plane supplier, confirm it is accepted at that specific station before arrival, and resolve the release number, aircraft tail and mission reference in advance so the bowser is not held at the wing.
- 02NATO STANAG and cross-servicing arrangements
Where a mutual logistics or cross-servicing agreement covers the station, fuel is drawn against the agreement rather than paid at the ramp. We verify the arrangement is live for the operating nation at that field and prepare the paperwork the supplier will ask for; where it is not in place, we bridge on a commercial contract so the movement is never grounded by a settlement question.
- 03Commercial bridging and contract pricing
At transit stops outside the release network we uplift on LFS contract fuel or the operator's fuel card, with the differential priced and confirmed before departure. This keeps a single trip file for the deployment instead of mixing settlement channels the finance office then has to reconcile.
- 04High-flow uplift for strategic airlift
C-17, A400M, IL-76, C-130 and tanker uplifts are planned against the actual turnaround, not the published one — multiple bowsers or high-flow hydrant carts positioned in sequence, single-point pressure refuelling confirmed, and defuel arranged where a load change requires it. Fuelling is sequenced against loading where ordnance or passengers are on the ramp.
- 05Quality control and audit documentation
Release certificates, batch and blend records, water and particulate check results and the signed fuel receipt are collected at uplift and returned with the trip file. Government audits query quantity, grade and release reference months later, so the documentation is assembled at the ramp rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Grade, additive capability and release acceptance are verified station by station for each movement. Where a required grade cannot be met at a planned stop, we say so at planning stage and propose an alternative field.
Who owns the clearance, how it is filed, how long it realistically takes, what fuel and release the station will actually accept, and what the ramp can take. Lead times below are planning figures for complete first-submission files — an incomplete or mis-routed application resets the clock.
- Clearance authorities
- Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs (BCAA) for the civil permit; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bahrain Defence Force for state and military-registered aircraft.
- Filing route
- Diplomatic note through the sending mission in Manama, filed in parallel with the BCAA application. LFS holds the station file and pushes both channels from the same desk.
- Lead time
- 5–7 working days standard. Duty-channel escalation available for medevac, humanitarian and operational-necessity movements.
- Fuel and release
- Jet A-1 with FSII injection available. Commercial contract, fuel card and recognised sovereign release accepted; release acceptance confirmed with the into-plane supplier before arrival.
- Ramp and equipment
- LFS home station, staffed 24/7. Widebody and strategic airlift stands, high-capacity GPU and air start, remote and screened parking available.
- Ordnance and arms
- Class 1 accepted at divisions 1.4 and 1.4S with a correct NOTOC. Higher divisions require an isolated stand and a specific BCAA/BDF exemption, confirmed case by case.
- Clearance authorities
- Jordan Armed Forces General Headquarters owns the field; CARC issues the civil overflight and landing clearance for the transit.
- Filing route
- JAF GHQ request via the defence attaché at the sending mission, filed together with the CARC application. Marka is the standing gateway for state, defence and Royal Court movements.
- Lead time
- 10–14 working days standard; longer for military-registered airframes or sensitive payloads.
- Fuel and release
- Military kerosene with additive package available on the military side; civil Jet A-1 at the terminal. Sovereign and host-nation releases handled through the base fuels section.
- Ramp and equipment
- Military apron with tactical airlift experience (C-130, C-17, A400M, IL-76). Heavy GSE and ramp loading equipment available; screened access.
- Ordnance and arms
- Handled routinely on the military side with JAF approval; declaration, NEQ and compatibility segregation confirmed before the movement is committed.
- Clearance authorities
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (note verbale), Saudi Ministry of Defence and GACA — three channels, all required.
- Filing route
- MoFA note verbale through the embassy in Riyadh, MoD movement approval, GACA permit filed in parallel. An approval is valid only when all three have answered.
- Lead time
- 10–15 working days standard. Saudi lead times are the least elastic in the region; short-notice approvals are the exception, not the norm.
- Fuel and release
- Jet A-1 with FSII injection at the main field. Government and sovereign releases accepted through the approved into-plane supplier; release reference and tail confirmed in advance.
- Ramp and equipment
- Royal Terminal for state and VVIP movements; remote and military-designated stands for defence logistics. Full heavy GSE.
- Ordnance and arms
- Weapons and munitions require Saudi MoD plus Ministry of Interior approval alongside the GACA dangerous-goods filing. Serial numbers and exact round counts are declared; undeclared arms are refused at the ramp.
- Clearance authorities
- Same triple channel as Riyadh — MoFA, Saudi MoD and GACA — with the Western region command involved for movements terminating in Jeddah.
- Filing route
- Note verbale and MoD approval filed with the GACA permit. Hajj and Umrah season imposes additional slot and apron constraints on every state movement.
- Lead time
- 10–15 working days standard; add buffer during Hajj and Umrah peak when apron and slot availability drive the timeline more than the clearance does.
- Fuel and release
- Jet A-1 with additive injection; high-volume uplift capability. Sovereign releases and contract settlement both supported.
- Ramp and equipment
- Royal Terminal plus outsized and freighter stands. Suited to heavy-lift and relief cargo movements into the Western region.
- Ordnance and arms
- As Riyadh: MoD and MoI approval in parallel with the civil DG filing. Class 1 acceptance confirmed per stand and per NEQ ceiling.
- Clearance authorities
- UAE Armed Forces GHQ for state and military aircraft; GCAA for the civil permit; Dubai Civil Aviation Authority for the station.
- Filing route
- GHQ diplomatic clearance through the mission in Abu Dhabi, filed with the GCAA application. DCAA handles the station-level approval.
- Lead time
- 5–7 working days standard — among the faster channels in the region when the file is complete on first submission.
- Fuel and release
- Jet A-1 with FSII injection and high-flow hydrant capability. Contract, card and sovereign release settlement supported.
- Ramp and equipment
- Uncongested widebody apron built for outsized traffic — An-124, C-17, IL-76, B747F. Main-deck loaders, heavy towing and high-capacity GSE on station.
- Ordnance and arms
- Class 1 accepted subject to GHQ and GCAA approval and an approved stand. NEQ ceiling agreed before the movement is confirmed.
- Clearance authorities
- UAE Armed Forces GHQ and, for head-of-state and Presidential Flight movements, the Presidential Court protocol channel alongside GCAA.
- Filing route
- Diplomatic clearance through the sending mission in Abu Dhabi; protocol notification filed separately for VVIP and head-of-state arrivals.
- Lead time
- 7–10 working days standard; VVIP and head-of-state movements need the protocol channel opened earlier than the flight clearance.
- Fuel and release
- Jet A-1 with additive injection; sovereign release and contract settlement supported. High-flow uplift available.
- Ramp and equipment
- VVIP and state terminal with dedicated apron, secure motorcade access and protocol facilities. Screened handling for delegations.
- Ordnance and arms
- Close-protection weapons handled under an agreed protocol — on board and sealed, bonded, or surrendered to airport police for the turnaround. Cargo munitions require GHQ approval.
- Clearance authorities
- Qatar Armed Forces for state and military movements; Qatar Civil Aviation Authority for the civil permit.
- Filing route
- Armed Forces approval via the defence attaché filed with the QCAA application. OTBD operates under a separate approval regime from OTHH and is the field for state and restricted movements.
- Lead time
- 7–10 working days standard; duty-channel escalation available for operational necessity.
- Fuel and release
- Jet A-1 with FSII injection available. Sovereign releases and host-nation support arrangements handled through the station fuels desk.
- Ramp and equipment
- Separated from commercial traffic, with strategic airlift capability, heavy GSE and secure parking away from public view.
- Ordnance and arms
- Class 1 handled with Armed Forces approval and an isolated stand. Declaration, NEQ and RFFS briefing confirmed before arrival.
- Clearance authorities
- Egyptian Ministry of Defence Operations Authority and the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA), with Ministry of Foreign Affairs involvement for state aircraft.
- Filing route
- MoD and ECAA filed together. Egyptian FIR boundaries intersect military-controlled airspace, so the corridor is cleared alongside the landing approval rather than after it.
- Lead time
- 10–14 working days standard; corridor and FIR coordination is the usual driver of the timeline, not the landing permit.
- Fuel and release
- Jet A-1 available; additive injection confirmed per uplift. Sovereign releases accepted subject to supplier confirmation at the station.
- Ramp and equipment
- State and protocol facilities plus freighter and relief-cargo capability. Heavy GSE available; stand allocation confirmed at approval.
- Ordnance and arms
- Arms and munitions require MoD approval alongside the ECAA dangerous-goods filing and are confirmed per UN number and division before planning.
Every figure above is a planning baseline. Authorities revise state-aircraft procedures without notice, so LFS re-confirms the channel, the lead time and the station acceptance for each movement before it is committed.
Civil field with significant military adjacency; LFS home station, staffed 24/7 with standing fuel release.
Royal Jordanian Air Force field — the standing gateway for state, defence and Royal Court movements into Jordan.
Royal terminal plus the regional humanitarian and treaty-organisation staging hub for Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Gaza access.
Royal terminals and separate state-movement approval channels; Saudi clearances run through MoFA, GACA and the Royal Court in parallel.
VVIP terminal at OMAA; OMDW carries the outsized and heavy-lift defence logistics traffic with uncongested apron.
State, military-adjacent and restricted movements operate here under a separate approval regime from OTHH.
Egyptian clearances intersect military-controlled FIR boundaries; ECAA and MoD approvals are filed together.
Coalition and defence logistics traffic with corridor approvals coordinated alongside the ATC authority.
- Operating state, service or agency and the sending mission point of contact
- Aircraft type, registration or tail number and state of registry
- Full routing with every overflight and landing, in ICAO codes
- Dates and ETA/ETD in UTC per sector
- Crew list and mission-personnel list with document details
- Mission purpose as it will be stated to the receiving authority
- Weapons, ammunition and equipment declaration where carried
- Cargo manifest and dangerous-goods classification where applicable
- Any existing diplomatic clearance or note verbale reference
- Fuel requirement, settlement method and any sovereign release
- Security posture required on the ramp and parking preference
- Crew rest, hotac and ground transport requirements
- Does LFS handle military and state aircraft directly?
- Yes. LFS is a flight support and ground handling organisation supporting state, defence and government-operated aircraft as well as civil traffic. We coordinate the clearances, the station handling, fuel, crew logistics and ramp supervision; we are not an aircraft operator or a broker.
- How is a military clearance different from a normal flight permit?
- A civil permit is issued by the civil aviation authority. A state or military aircraft is normally cleared through the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, often via the sending state's embassy or defence attaché, and frequently needs a civil permit in parallel. The lead times are longer and far less elastic.
- How much notice do military clearances need?
- Plan on seven to fourteen working days for most state movements across the Gulf and Middle East, and longer where the airframe is military-registered or carries weapons or sensitive equipment. Short-notice approvals do happen through duty channels for humanitarian, medevac and operational-necessity movements, but they depend entirely on the receiving state.
- Can you handle aircraft carrying weapons or ammunition?
- Where the station and the operator are approved for the class concerned, yes. We confirm acceptance for the specific UN numbers and classes, prepare the declarations and NOTOC, verify segregation and storage requirements, and notify the authority where the class requires prior notification. Where a station cannot accept the class, we say so before the movement is planned rather than at the ramp.
- Do you support air-to-air refuelling deployments and multi-sector transits?
- Yes. A single trip file covers the whole deployment — every overflight, every en-route stop, tanker and receiver coordination on the ground, fuel uplift at each station and crew rest — with one point of contact and one consolidated invoice.
- How do you protect sensitive movement information?
- Details are held by the named LFS desk running the movement and shared only with the authorities required to deliver it. We do not publish state or defence movements on tracking systems or in marketing material, and we retain manifests only to the regulatory minimum. Repeat defence and government clients operate under a standing file with a named LFS protocol officer.