Definition
An ICAO contraction used in flight plans and ATS messages to indicate that an instrument approach will be flown with the aircraft's autopilot coupled to the navigation guidance signals (e.g., ILS localizer and glideslope), rather than being hand-flown.
Plain English
A short code that tells controllers the pilot intends to let the autopilot fly the approach by following the navigation signals, instead of flying it manually.
Context Anchor
Seen in ICAO flight planning, air traffic control coordination, and glossary references to flight plan status.
Derivation
From 'coupled,' meaning joined or linked together. Here it describes the autopilot being electronically linked to the approach guidance signals so it can track them automatically.
Why Pilots Care
It is the minimum licence required to fly for compensation or hire.
Intuition Check
Do not read Cpl [ICAO] as commercial pilot license here. In this ICAO glossary context, it means current flight plan.
Example Sentence 1
The crew briefed a Cpl ILS to Runway 27L due to the reported 200-foot ceiling.
Example Sentence 2
ICAO standards require at least 200 hours of flight time for the CPL.