Definition
The published deadline by which a navigation database provider must finalize all source data, procedure changes, and amendments for inclusion in the next AIRAC navigation database cycle. Any change received after the cutoff date is held over for a later cycle.
Plain English
It is the last day the database provider will accept new chart or procedure information for the next update of the navigation database. Anything that arrives after that day has to wait for the following update.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of aircraft navigation databases, instrument procedure data, and how database providers prepare each update.
Derivation
“Cutoff” means a stopping point or limit, and “date” is the calendar day attached to that limit. In this context, it helps you remember that the provider has a fixed day when input for that update stops being accepted.
Why Pilots Care
If a procedure amendment arrives after the cutoff date, it will not appear in the pilot's current database, requiring use of other sources until the next cycle.
Analogy
It is like a print deadline for a schedule. If a change comes in after the deadline, it may be correct, but it will not appear in that printed version.
Intuition Check
Do not read “cutoff date” as the date the database expires. Here, it means the provider’s deadline for including new information in a particular update.
Example Sentence 1
The new RNAV approach was published by the FAA, but because it arrived after the database provider's cutoff date, it will not be loadable in the GPS until next cycle.
Example Sentence 2
Because the chart revision arrived after the cutoff date, the database provider scheduled it for the April cycle instead.