When is an IFR flight plan automatically cancelled?

• A. Landing at an airport with an active control tower
• B. Reaching cruising altitude
• C. After 60 minutes of delay
• D. When entering uncontrolled airspace

Answer: (A)

Main idea: An IFR flight plan is automatically closed when you land at the destination at a towered airport. At controlled fields with an active tower, once you touch down and the clearance is terminated, ATC can automatically cancel the IFR flight plan in the system. This means no extra action is needed by you to close the plan there.

If you land at an uncontrolled field, the IFR plan does not automatically cancel; you must manually cancel IFR with ATC or via radio when appropriate. That’s why the other scenarios—changing altitude, a delay, or entering uncontrolled airspace—don’t trigger automatic cancellation.