Type of ATCO

Question 1

What are Aerodrome ATCO’s responsibilities?

Answer 1

• Safety and movement of the aircraft on the airfield from the push back to departure and vice versa.
• Issuing instructions for taxi to/from runway
• Issuing clearances to take off and land
• Issuing routings and clearances to a/c prior to departure

Question 2

The task of a Tower Controller can be split in to two

Answer 2

• AIR, runway specific tasks

- GROUND, movement between the stands and the runway vicinity

Question 3

What are Area Controller’s responsibilities?

Answer 3

• Responsible for the aircraft in climb, descent and en-route phase of the flight.
• Issue levels, headings and speeds to separate aircraft to provide the most safe and expeditious routing to the exit point.
• Agreement with the next sector/controller

Question 4

What are Approach Controller’s responsibilities?

Answer 4

• Take over from the area controllers
• Give initial clearance for the aircraft to approach the airport. If using radar, will issue headings, altitudes, speeds and any other relevant information.
• Put all approaching aircraft into a sequence to create the most efficient order for landing
• In some cases, e.g. go-arounds, responsible for the initial phase after take-off before being transferred to area control
• Responsible for any other flights transiting the immediate airspace surrounding the aerodrome.

Question 5

What does spacing between approaching aircraft depend on?

Approach

Answer 5

• Prevailing weather conditions, e.g. LVPs
• The size of aircraft involved (larger a/c create more wake turbulence than smaller a/c)
• The number of aircraft waiting to depart

Question 6

Give an example of wake turbulence separation?

Approach

Answer 6

Depending on the size and type of aircraft and wind conditions, wake turbulance take different times to disipate. Bigger aircraft create bigger wake turbulance, and stronger winds help mitigate it.

Question 7

What are “stacks”?

Approach

Answer 7

“Stacks” are holding facilities at major airfields if a delay is expected. EGLL and EGKK have 4 and 2 stacks respectively.
Stacking means that pilots go into a holding pattern circling radio beacons

Question 8

When will the Approach Controller transfer the aircraft to the Aerodrome Controller?

Answer 8

When the aircraft is established on the final approach at between 6-12 miles from the runway