Choosing departure procedure in Italy

SimBrief Dispatch
1

Some airports in Italy have a very large number of departures and transitions, and I find it difficult to determine which procedure is used for a specific flight. Rome Fiumicino (LIRF) is a good example, with a huge variety of SIDs.

I also can not find any information on this topic in the Airport Briefing pages. Requirements such as RNAV 1 give at least some indication, but several different procedures still seem plausible.

Is there anyone who can shed some light on this topic and help explain how to choose the correct procedure? Perhaps there is even an official source for this information?

Thank you very much!

2

In the real world, the procedure would be assigned by Air Traffic Control as required, thus the pilots probably rarely ever have to worry about picking one.

In the sim, you would pick one of the transitions that connect with the first enroute waypoint, and then select whichever SID get you to the first waypoint of the transition.

Let’s take as an example, LIRF Fiumicino to EGLL Heathrow, with this route:

NEMBO DCT GOVGO DCT NORNI DCT AOSTA DCT ORSUD DCT MOLUS DCT IBODI DCT GOTED DCT TRO DCT CLM DCT KOPOR DCT ABNUR DCT DIMAL DCT ALESO

You need a departure transition that connects to NEMBO. Turns out there is only one:

Screenshot 2026-01-14 at 22.55.04
Screenshot 2026-01-14 at 22.55.04826×1700 71 KB

Then you need to pick a SID that:

  • connects into NEMBO 7A (NEM7A), meaning one that ends at XENOL
    → the NEM7A transition starts at XENOL, see chart 10-3X2 above
  • starts at whichever runway you’re taking off from

Here are the applicable SID procedures:

  • no applicable SIDs for runway 07
  • XENOL 7C or 7J for runway 16L
  • XENOL 6W, 7B or 7K for runway 16R
  • XENOL 5A, 7R or 8L for runway 25
  • XENOL 7M or 7Y for runway 34L
  • XENOL 8X for runway 34R

When multiple SIDs are applicable, just look at the chart and pick whichever you prefer or seems more appropriate to your aircraft.

Regards,

Tim

3

Thank you for your reply, Tim. My question is aimed exactly at those scenarios where multiple SIDs seem appropriate. You can find this situation all over the world. FRA, SFO, and HKG quickly come to mind.

In those cases, multiple departures lead to the same endpoint, each existing for specific operational reasons. With a bit of reading and thinking, I was able to figure out which departure to use.

The Italian departures however, are still a black box to me….

4

Well, if multiple departures are applicable and all look suitable, and you’re not flying with Air Traffic Control, just pick one at random :slight_smile:

Regards,

Tim

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