Systems and methods for flight plan modifications

A system for flight plan modification on-board an aircraft, comprising:

• a navigation system;
• and
• a processing system coupled to the navigation system and programmed to:
• determine that the aircraft is operating on an initial flight plan;
• identify a segment of interest within the initial flight plan;
• determine a geographical environment associated with the segment of interest;
• determine a relevant air traffic control (ATC) for the geographical environment;
• request, from the relevant ATC, an amount of deviation from the initial flight plan for the segment of interest;
• obtain, from the relevant ATC, permission for the amount of deviation from the initial flight plan for the segment of interest;
• use at least the amount of deviation to calculate a shortest path for the segment of interest in response to obtaining the permission for the amount of deviation from the flight plan for the segment of interest from the relevant ATC, wherein the shortest path is an air distance;
• and
• modify the initial flight plan for the segment of interest such that the aircraft flies the shortest path for the segment of interest.

An aircraft system on-board an aircraft, comprising:

• a navigation system;
• a flight management system (FMS);
• and
• a processing system coupled to the navigation system and FMS, the processing system configured to:
• determine that the aircraft is operating on an initial flight plan;
• identify a segment of interest within the initial flight plan;
• determine a geographical environment associated with the segment of interest;
• determine a relevant air traffic control (ATC) for the geographical environment;
• request, from the relevant ATC, an amount of deviation from the initial flight plan for the segment of interest;
• obtain, from the relevant ATC, permission for the amount of deviation from the initial flight plan for the segment of interest;
• use at least the amount of deviation to calculate a shortest path for the segment of interest in response to obtaining the permission for the amount of deviation from the flight plan for the segment of interest from the relevant ATC;
• and
• modify the initial flight plan for the segment of interest;
• and
• command the FMS to fly the shortest path for the segment of interest.