Which clearance procedures can ATC issue without a request from the pilot?

Air Traffic Control (ATC) has the authority to issue specific clearance procedures without needing a request from the pilot, particularly to ensure efficient traffic flow and adherence to procedural requirements.

Departure Procedures (DPs), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs), and visual approaches can all be initiated by ATC to organize air traffic and guide pilots safely to their destinations. The issuance of DPs helps standardize the way aircraft depart from an airport, ensuring they follow predetermined routes that facilitate safer and more efficient flight operations directly after takeoff. STARs serve a similar function during arrival, providing a structured path for aircraft descending towards an airport, connecting them to the appropriate airspace and aligning them for final descents.

Visual approaches, while more flexible and based on pilots’ visual references to the ground, can also be directed by ATC. This type of approach can help expedite arrivals during busy air traffic periods by allowing pilots to choose their own visual flight path based on existing weather conditions and air traffic.

Therefore, since ATC can initiate all three procedures—DPs, STARs, and visual approaches—without a specific request from the pilot, the answer that encompasses all these options is correct.