ATCO responsibilities & types of controller

ATCO overall responsibility

Safety of aircrafts from departure gate to destination gate.

ATCOs provided with details of

Any flight intending to fly through responsible airspace or flights due to arrive/depart aerodrome

Details on electronic/paper flight progress strip

(Generated when flight plan is filed)

Callsign, route, altitude, speed

ATCO to pilot comms

VHF radio (instructions repeated back)

ATCOs to pilot comms over Atlantic

HF radio (instructions repeated back)

ATCOs to ATCOs comms

Computer link or telephone between sectors & one inside adjacent centre’s airspace

Centres UK ATCs co-ordinate with

UK, Dublin, Shannon, Brest, Paris, Brussels, Maastricht, Copenhagen

Types of controllers

Aerodrome (tower), approach, area

Aerodrome (tower) manage

Airfield movement from pushback, taxi to/from runway & clearances to take off/land

Affect of wind on runways

Aircraft prefer to land/depart into wind

Areodrome provide before departure

Routings & clearances

Aerodrome split at busiest:

Runway (air), between stand & runway (ground)

Approach are based

At airfields

LTCC from swanwick

Approach take over from

Area as aircraft approaches airport

Approach give

Initial clearance to approach airfield & form most efficient landing sequence

Approach may also

monitor initial flight phase after departure/before Area & aircrafts transmitting immediate airspace

Approach controllers using radar

issue headings, altitudes, speed etc to guide final approach path towards runway

Spacing depends on

prevailing weather, size of aircraft, no. waiting to depart

Boeing 737 wake separation

3 mile (medium)

Boeing 747 wake separation

5 mile (heavy)

Aircraft holds purpose

inner & outer to enter if delays

e.g. Heathrow has 4 inner holds

Gatwick/stansted have 2 inner holds

Area overall responsibility

Climb/descent/en route

Area controllers issue

levels, headings, separation speeds til exit point of their sector

Area controllers to/from sector/controller

Agree route of aircraft and transfer according to set conditions

Flight rules are dependent on

Classification of airspace within FIR

Flight rules are either

VFR (clear meteorological, pilot control)

or IFR (anu meteorological, instrument control).

Pilots qualified in both or just VFR

All ATCO responsibilities (4)

• Preventing collisions between aircrafts in air

• Assisting in preventing collisions between aircrafts moving on apron and manoeuvring area

• Assisting in preventing collisions between aircraft and obstruction on manoeuvring area

• Expediting and maintaining orderly flow of traffic

Paper/elctronic flight progress strips used for

monitoring progress of aircraft on surface of airport, in proximity of airfield, or through en-route sector

Affect of aircraft size

Greater wake turbulence = greater turbulence wake separation

Inbound aircraft transferred from approach to aerodrome

6-12 miles from runway