ATC only allows visual approach even when flying IFR

Do you have any add-ons in your Community folder? If yes, please remove and retest before posting.
No

Are you using Developer Mode or made changes in it?
No

Brief description of the issue:
When I fly with IFR High Altitude Airways on a B787, once I reach the arrival airport ATC only allows me a Visual Approach.

Provide Screenshot(s)/video(s) of the issue encountered:

Detail steps to reproduce the issue encountered:

  1. Setup a flight plan. For my case:
    Departure: WSSS Gate 114, no runway selected on the World Map
    Arrival: RJTT Gate 114, no runway selected on the World Map
    Select IFR High Altitude Airways

  2. Fly and wait until you reach close to RJTT and ATC assigns you an approach.

  3. ATC assigned me a Visual Approach on runway 04.

  4. When I tried to select another runway, the only runway available is 05.

RJTT should have the following runways:
16L - ILS yes
16R - ILS yes
22 - ILS yes
23 - ILS yes
34L - ILS yes
34R - ILS yes
04 - ILS no
05 - ILS no

Before the Xbox update with this exact same flight plan, ATC will assign me any of the ILS equipped runways. Now it is only allowing me 04/05.

PC specs for those who want to assist (if not entered in your profile)
Xeon W3690
9GB RAM
GTX 970

Build Version # when you first started experiencing this issue:
1.18.14

Are you on the Steam or Microsoft Store version?
Steam

Did you submit this to Zendesk? If so, what is your ticket #?
#117239

The issue above might be linked to this. With the flight plan from the World Map I always see the issue, however with the manual entry flight plan 2 out of 2 tries I got an IFR approach.

Ive just started getting this post SU11 ifr flight all i get is a visual approach , ive used flight plans with automatic as destination and also with an assigned approach both Rnav and ILS, ive used flightplans created in MSFS flight planner and Navigraphs. ATC also often fails to give me any kind of clearence to land even on the visual approach

Same here on xbox

ive noticed it seems to be doing it more on 3rd part airports, just flew to Svalbard and it gave me the Rnav approach

The ATC logic is that:

  • if it’s an untowered field you will not get a landing clearance. You will be given an approach clearance and a ‘frequency change approved’ from which you can go ahead and tune the traffic frequency and announce your intentions.

  • if no approach procedure (precision or non precisio) is available you will be given a visual approach clearance. If you cannot see the field to establish the visual approach you should divert.

No comment on how realistic this is…but it’s how MSFS does it

i was flying into Rovaneimi and it gave me a visual approach when airport was IMC i tried to cancel ifr and do a normal can iland option and it said denied field is IFR only this was from same atc that had just tried to give me a visual approach, it wouldn’t be so bad if the " select another approach " option let you choose any of the built in approaches for that airport

Aye, running up into the limits of the ATC logic there I think.

Hopefully it will get better when Working Title do their planned improvement.

I tried Pilot2ATC as an alternative, but found the core aspect of it (voice recognition) hilariously poor. Maybe it will be better now I’m on Win 11.
If I want real ATC experience I just go fly vatsim now.

Merry Christmas :christmas_tree:!

In built sim ATC is not correct,

but I see problem (generally, I don’t use in sim ATC) with no ARR procedure set. In this case is simply only visual approach available and this kind of app is still full capable under IFR conditions. You as PIC need to do decision what you want to do :slight_smile:

Yes but it happens whether an approach has been set or not and should not be given a visual approach when its IMC

oh and Merry Christmas to everyone

Yes,

many users still misunderstand IFR with IMC and also then some mistakes can happen, IRL then more fatal as here with AN-24 crash in 2006. If IMC is on airport and I as PIC see clear runway, why not ask for visual app under IFR? :slight_smile: My responsibility…

Agreed but the issue here is i cant see the airport or the runway as its pitch black with low cloud and i didnt ask for visual that’s what atc is giving not what i want again as PIC my responsibility i want the rnav but no option in atc for it

then also not good decision, with no possible to go lower minima. I understand you but all depends to in game ATC what is wrong, then simply all has been said. If you understand that ATC isn’t functional ok at your side, is no problem accept visual app and follow ILS freq with landing procedure :slight_smile: fair enough right? ATC simply doesn’t know and don’t care what you’re doing in case of accept visual approach, this is only again PIC choice and full responsibility.

“If you understand that ATC isn’t functional ok at your side, is no problem accept visual app and follow ILS freq with landing procedure :slight_smile: fair enough right?”

No because that’s the point i mentioned my original post before it got derailed on semantics, if you’re given the visual it never clears you for landing it just keeps you at same height and course forever
of course you can physically do the ils but you have atc shouting at you constantly and you cant use ATC in the flight following mode because airport is IMC so denies you landing cant diverte as it will do same thing elsewhere

Ok,

looks like we’re still at same point what I said - if in sim ATC isn’t correct, what you want expect more??? Really I’m still impressed by people what still use in sim atc…

before SU11 it worked fine it would either give you what you asked for in the flight plan or used some logic usally giving you an ils first, visual second. so what should they use ? please don’t say vatsim.
an to be honest the whole point of this thread was to say atc didn’t work the thread post was explicit

Hello,

sry, my reactions are only due this Topic name - [ATC only allows visual approach even when flying IFR]

as I said, this topic name is simply incorrect, this I want to say from my first post, is this not noticable? From exactly Topic name isn’t absolutelly clear that ATC doesn’t work. I expect maybe some knowledge but that I posted already in my posts. No problem with other talks. If I could describe better, if i’m experienced with problematic then more easy to me find workaround, simply stay within rules as much real as possible and if this I can’t solve, then better no use atc. Very simple to not have bad habbits with simulation. If I don’t care about knowledge and rules of flying then it is easy to set only what I see as choice → visual approach. Hope it is clear now.

There is a new ATC bug since SU11. The ATC will ‘forget’ your IFR flight plan, and the ATC option appears to refile it during flight. Use this option (at or just after top of descent seems best to avoid it getting confused).

The ATC will think you are filing for a new destination and will assign an instrument approach.

Still having this issue in the latest beta, seems to be only DLC airports which are affected. Quite annoying as I fly mainly out of EGCC and I have the DLC for it. Its only started happening for the last few weeks.

agreed whole heartedly ive actually now stopped using atc entirely because of this