4. Air traffic control in UK Flashcards
What does FIR stand for?
Flight Information Region
How many FIRs does the UK have and what are they?
UK has 2 FIRS
- London
- Scottish
Where is London FIR controlled from?
London FIR is controlled by the London Area Control Centre (LACC) at Swanwick Hampshire.
How is Airspace over the UK divided?
Into two Flight Information Regions - London and Scottish.
What does LACC stand for?
London Area control centre
When did LACC start operating?
The Centre started operating in January 2002
How many and what are the operations rooms in Swanwick?
There 3 Ops rooms: - London Area Control Centre (LACC) - London Terminal Control Centre (LTCC) - Military Air Traffic Control
What’s LACC purpose?
Manages en route traffic in the London FIR. This includes en route airspace over England and Wales up to the Scottish border.
What does LTCC stand for?
London Terminal Control Centre
What’s LTCC purpose?
Handles traffic below 24,500ft flying to and from London’s airports.
What area is covered by LTCC?
Extends south and east to the borders of France and the Netherlands, west towards Bristol and north to near Birmingham
What’s Military Air Traffic Control’s purpose?
Provides services to civil and military aircraft operating outside controlled airspace. Work closely with civilian controllers to ensure safe co-ordination of traffic.
What does London FIR cover?
The majority of England and Wales
What does Scottish FIR cover?
The whole of Scotland and Northern Ireland and the immediate surrounding areas.
Where is Scottish FIR controlled from?
Scottish FIR is controlled by the Scottish En-Route centre at Prestwick.
How many and what are the operations rooms in Prestwick?
There 2 Ops rooms: - Scottish Area Control Centre (ScACC) - Oceanic Area Control Centre (OACC)
What’s ScACC purpose?
Controls aircraft over Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England, the Midlands, North Wales and the North Sea
What altitude does ScACC cover?
Controls aircraft from 2,500ft up to 66,000ft.
What’s OACC purpose?
Controls the airspace over the eastern half of the North Atlantic from Azores (45 degrees north) to a boundary with Iceland (61 degrees north) and westward to longitude 30 degrees West.
What does ATCO stand for?
Air Traffic Control Officers
What are ATCOs mainly responsible for?
For the SAFE, ORDERLY and EFFICIENT movement of aircraft
What ATCOs’ role will entail?
Whether working in a Tower or a Centre, the role will incorporate one or more of the following responsibilities:
- Preventing collisions between aircraft in the air
- Assisting in preventing collisions between aircraft moving on the apron and the manoeuvring area
- Assisting in preventing collisions between aircraft and obstructions on the manoeuvring area
- Expediting and maintaining an orderly flow of air traffic
What ATCOs are provided with?
Details of any flight that intends to fly through the airspace they are responsible for, or
any flight that is due to arrive/depart from an aerodrome by means of an electronic or paper flight progress strip
What details are displayed on the electronic or paper flight progress strip?
- Callsign
- Route
- Altitude
- Speed
How is the progress strip generated?
It is generated by ATC computers when a flight plan is filed.
How ATCOs and pilots communicate?
Usually using VHF radio. Except over the Atlantic where HF is used.
Any instructions that the Controller issues to an aircraft must be read back by the pilot
Do Controllers communicate with each other? Why? How?
Yes, they must communicate with each other to pass details of flights as they move from one sector to another.
Often the information is passed by a computer link, but also by using telephones to communicate with these adjacent centres
Name ATCO types
- Approach/ Aerodrome Controller
- Area/ Terminal Controller
What other ATC Centres must the UK coordinate with?
With Air Traffic Centres in
- Dublin,
- Shannon
- Brest
- Paris
- Brussels
- Maastricht
- Copenhagen.
Likewise, these adjacent centers must inform the UK about flights approaching UK airspace
What are the different types of Controllers?
- Approach/Aerodrome Controller
- Terminal/ Area Controller
