Air Traffic Control Entities

 

    The Control Tower at the airport may seem like there is only one job, launch, control, and land the aircrafts safely. In order for that to happen though, there are different cogs to the clock to make it work. While each entity in the tower is there for the same objective, they all have specific tasks to monitor and control in order for safe flight operations to occur. Two of those entities are the local control and Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

    The local controllers are responsible for getting the aircraft in the air and landed safely. They ensure the spacing between aircrafts are sufficient. Spacing is especially important during the takeoff and landing portions of flight. Think of just about any commercial airport and you can literally watch the planes cycle through; one will take off then about 1 min later one will land, and repeat. That spacing allows for the safe movement of aircraft in case of an emergency, an efficient flow of aircraft to stay on schedule, and to allow the jet wash or turbulence created from the jets diminish enough to allow a safe pass through by another plane. The local controllers are responsible for aircraft with 5 miles of their tower specifically for the takeoff and landing procedures (Jet Advisors, 2021).

    The Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) are responsible for the main chuck of movement in the skies. Once and aircraft has taken off and is climbing to cruising altitude (between 33 and 40 thousand feet) it will begin to take commands and notifications from the ARTCC. They track and coordinate aircraft movement through the majority of the flight. These centers include groups of people, each closely monitoring their portion of the task list and will monitor aircraft in their section and transfer it to the next zone once ready. There are 22 ARTCC across the nation (Kern, 2020).

    There are many similarities between the two, but the main focus of the job is different. One will focus on takeoff and landing procedures and ensure proper timing and spacing, while the other coordinates the safe passage at altitude across the nation.

References

Chui, S. (2020). Amsterdam Air Traffic Control Visit. Sam Chui Aviation & Travel. https://samchui.com/2020/01/20/amsterdam-air-traffic-control-visit/#.Ydye5mjMKM8

Jet Advisors. (2021). The Eyes of the Skies: Inside Air Traffic Control. https://jetadvisors.com/air-traffic-control/

Kern, R. M. (2020). Air Route Traffic Control. AVWeb. https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/faa-regs/air-route-traffic-control/