The FAA issued a policy statement establishing the requirement for operators to obtain ATC authorizations to fly aircraft that are not ADS–B Out equipped while flying in ADS–B-mandated airspace beginning in January 2020. It should be noted that obtaining these clearances will not be guaranteed and might not be made available. Taking that as the BIG hint that it is, we highly suggest you get ADS-B equipped ASAP.
Under the policy, the operator must make the request to ATC for an authorized deviation at least one hour before the proposed flight in ADS-B airspace (we would not wait until the hour before). Requests are addressed on a “case-by- case basis” and ATC might not be able to grant authorizations due to and including workload, runway configurations, air traffic flows, and weather conditions, or the queue in front of you, etc.
The FAA said it will not divert ATC facility resources from other critical functions that directly support controllers performing their duties to assist non ADS-B Out aircraft.
The FAA also notes that any unscheduled operators conducting flights at capacity constrained airports (most facilities in class B airspace)will find it nearly impossible to obtain authorizations.
Long Story short, ADS-B Out and 2020 compliance is not going to be extended and you are going to be impacted with serious flight restrictions if you don’t comply, so what are you waiting for?
