Landing Clearance: IFR to Visual

An IFR landing clearance is your authorization to land the aircraft. Unlike VFR, where you might simply be cleared for the circuit, an IFR landing clearance is specific: it clears you to descend below the minimum descent altitude and land on a specific runway. You must read back this clearance because it is a critical instruction.
The clearance takes several forms depending on the approach type and ATC workload:
  • "Runway [number], cleared to land" (simplest form)
  • "Runway [number] right hand circuit, cleared to land" (if turns are required)
  • "Runway [number], wind [direction and speed], cleared to land" (if wind information helps)