Cross the Ditch 22: Winter 2022

It's June and with the easing of travel restrictions, people all across Australasia are dreaming of escaping the cold with trips to the Islands.

Facilitating these holidays are the pilots and controllers of VATSIM, connecting Melbourne, Auckland, and Fiji as we once again Cross the Ditch!

Check out the official Cross the Ditch website

Apply to provide ATC

Book your Flights now!

View the Event Schedule

Check out the Virtual Airline Leaderboard

Grab the recommended add-on scenery for each of the event airports

What's it all about?

For twenty hours this June, the skies over the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand will be filled with aircraft all on a mission to Cross the Ditch.

An example of that typical down-under understatement, this "ditch" is over 1100nm wide. The flight routes all range from two and a half to three and a half hours flight time.

Throughout the event, Oceania's two divisions – VATNZ and VATPAC – will be providing full gate-to-gate ATC coverage, in the Southern Hemisphere's premiere oceanic event.

This is a great opportunity to experience Oceanic flying without the need to commit to an eight-hour flight!

If you're new to Oceanic Flying, our reporting tool makes taking part a breeze.

Event Times

This twenty hour event is timed to allow pilots from all over the world join the fun:

• • UTC: Saturday 11th June 2022 18:00 - Sunday 12th June 2022 14:00
  • AEST: Sunday 12th June 2022 04:00 - Monday 13th June 2022 00:00
  • NZST: Sunday 12th June 2022 06:00 - Monday 13th June 2022 02:00

Routes

This season's event is following a three-airport structure, with an airport in Australia, one in New Zealand, and one in the Pacific Islands - in this case, Nadi in Fiji.

Each flight should take roughly two and a half to three and a half hours to complete, allowing pilots time to easily complete multiple sectors.

NOTE: Melbourne will be available for arrivals and departures from 20:00 UTC/06:00 AEST. Auckland and Nadi will be available from the start of the event.

Similarly, at the end of the event, Auckland and Nadi will remain open for arrivals and departures until 12:00 UTC/00:00 NZST. Melbourne will be available until the end of the event.

The Arrival and Departure Slots available on the Flight Booking page will ensure that there is ATC coverage throughout your flight.

The Routes for Cross the Ditch 22 - Winter 2022 are:

• Nadi, Fiji (NFFN) to Auckland, New Zealand (NZAA)
• Auckland, New Zealand (NZAA) to Melbourne, Australia (YMML)
• Melbourne, Australia (YMML) to Auckland, New Zealand (NZAA)
• Auckland, New Zealand (NZAA) to Nadi, Fiji (NFFN)

Calling all Pilots and Controllers

Flight plans are available from the Flight Plans section.

Book your flights now from the Flight Bookings page. Bookings made on this site help us plan for the event, and will also show up in vroute.

Controllers wanting to get in on the action can also apply now at the event's ATC Applications page.