8.2

Air Traffic Control Entities 

26 October 2021

    If you have been to an airport, you might have noticed a tall cylindrical building with a glass room on the top with antennas. This is the air traffic control tower, providing a ground-base service that directs aircrafts both on the ground and in the airspace. The main purpose of having an air traffic control is to prevent mishaps and any accidents by controlling the flow of aircrafts and communicating with the pilots to provide critical information. The air traffic control is ran by the FAA and are split up in entities such as Ground, Tower, Radar, Clearance Deliver, and the Air Route Traffic Control Centers

    The Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) provides air traffic service to aircrafts operating  under controlled air space as well as en route phases of flights and airways (National ATC, 2021). There are 21 ARTCCs in the United States, split into sectors, each responsible for controlling air traffic within the United States as well as parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean (National ATC, 2021). A major ARTCC is located in the Los Angeles region and is responsible for aircrafts flying in parts of California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona, covering up to 177,000 square miles (FAA, n.d). 

    The air traffic clearance delivery provides service by giving the aircraft permission to departure or do the initial routing (Skybrary, 2020). An example of this is if the initial routing or departure times are changed by the air traffic controller, then the aircraft will not be allowed to taxi, only to be stationary and under no circumstances will be able to departure until given clearance by the air traffic clearance delivery (Skybrary, 2020). This helps in mitigating the risk by allowing aircrafts to move only when the taxiway is clear, and helps in coordinating with the aircraft is they would like to change the departure time (Skybrary, 2020).

    Both the ARTCC and the Air traffic clearance delivery provide services to the pilots in order to make the flight as safe as possible while maintaining their tight flying schedule. The differences between these two ATC entities is that the ARTCC helps in tracking the aircrafts and providing the pilot with critical information during flight, and the Air traffic clearance deliver helps in controlling the flow of aircrafts within the airport. 

References:

FAA. (2018). Airport Operations. PHAK. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/16_phak_ch14.pdf

Skybrary. (2020). ATC Clearance Delivery. https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/ATC_Clearance_Delivery

FAA. (n.d.-c). Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center. https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/air_traffic_services/artcc/media/ZLA-ARTCC.pdf

FAA. (2021b). Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC). https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/nas_ops/atcscc/