What is a visual approach? ​

A visual approach is when a pilot flies to the runway by looking out the window instead of following an instrument procedure like an ILS. The pilot has the airport or the preceding aircraft in sight and navigates visually for the final portion of the approach.

It's less precise than an ILS but much faster to execute. In good weather, visual approaches are the most common type of approach at busy airports.

When it's used ​

Visual approaches require:

• The airport must be visible to the pilot, or the pilot must have the preceding aircraft in sight
• The ceiling must be at or above 1,000 feet above the airport and visibility at least 3 statute miles (basic VFR minimums) - check the METAR to verify
• The controller clears the pilot for the visual approach

In practice, visual approaches dominate whenever the weather is decent. At airports like Los Angeles, Phoenix, or Denver where clear skies are common, almost every arrival is a visual approach.

Why controllers like them ​

Visual approaches are faster because:

Reduced separation. When a pilot reports the traffic ahead in sight, the controller can reduce spacing below the standard instrument approach minimum. The pilot is now responsible for maintaining visual separation from that aircraft, freeing the controller to tighten the sequence.

No procedure turns or extended patterns. An ILS approach requires the aircraft to intercept the localizer and follow it in. A visual approach lets the pilot cut corners - turning base earlier, taking a shorter final, or flying a tighter pattern. This saves time and airspace.

More runway throughput. Tighter spacing plus shorter approaches means more aircraft per hour. At a busy airport, visual approaches can increase landing rates by 20-30% compared to ILS-only operations.

How it works ​

A typical visual approach sequence:

1. The controller vectors the aircraft toward the airport, as with any approach
2. At some point the controller asks "airport in sight?" or "traffic in sight?"
3. The pilot confirms they can see the airport or the traffic ahead
4. The controller clears the visual approach: "cleared visual approach runway 25L"
5. The pilot takes over navigation visually and flies to the runway

The controller is still responsible for separation from other IFR traffic until the pilot reports the airport or traffic in sight. After clearing the visual approach, the pilot takes over visual separation from the traffic they were told to follow.

Risks ​

Visual approaches remove the precision of instrument guidance. The pilot is hand-flying based on what they see. This can lead to:

• Unstabilized approaches - harder to nail the correct glidepath without electronic guidance
• Wrong runway/wrong airport - rare, but it has happened when visibility is marginal or runways look similar
• Loss of visual reference - if the pilot loses sight of the airport in haze or clouds after accepting the visual approach, they need to go around or request an instrument approach

There's also the workload factor. On an ILS, the autopilot follows the glideslope and localizer. On a visual approach, the pilot is looking outside, judging distance and altitude, and hand-flying. It's a different skill set.

Contact approaches ​

A contact approach is similar but with lower visibility requirements (1 statute mile, clear of clouds). The pilot must request it - the controller can't assign one. Contact approaches are rarer and only used when the pilot knows the area well enough to navigate visually in reduced visibility.

In radarcontrol.io ​

Visual approaches are not currently implemented. All approaches use ILS, which means aircraft follow the instrument glidepath and localizer to the runway.

In the real world, visual approaches are extremely common in good weather and are a big part of how controllers maximize runway throughput. The ability to tighten spacing when pilots have traffic in sight is one of the most effective tools a controller has.

The sim's ILS-only model means approach spacing is consistent but doesn't capture the flexibility that visual approaches give real controllers. Sequencing in the sim relies entirely on speed control, vectors, and altitude management rather than the pilot-assisted spacing that visual approaches allow.

Related: What is an ILS approach? | How arrivals are sequenced | What is a go-around?

Guides: Arrivals guide | Command reference

Play Atlanta TRACON - sequence arrivals at one of the world's busiest airports.