TRANSPORT

MANAGEMEN
T

UNIT-4
Air traffic control (ATC)
Air traffic control is a necessary responsibility in the ever-
growing field of aircraft travel. Conducted by ground-based
personnel, who have been trained and certified by the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air traffic control
responsibilities center on the monitoring of air traffic in a
given area, specifically tower control, approach and
departure control, and en route control.
Air traffic control (ATC)
It is a service provided by ground based
Controllers who direct the Aircraft on the ground
and through controlled Air Space and can
provide advisory Services to aircraft in non-
controlled Air Space.

To prevent collisions ATC enforces Traffic

Separation Rules, which Ensure each aircraft
Maintains a Minimum amount of Empty space
around it all times.
Extended Services
•In many Countries, ATC provides services to all private,
military and commercial aircraft operating within it’s Air
space.

•Many Aircrafts also have Collision avoidance systems ,

which provide additional safety by warning pilots when other
aircrafts gets close.

•The Pilot in Command is the final Authority for the Safe

operation of Aircraft and in an emergency he may Deviate
from ATC instructions to maintain Safe operation of Aircraft.
History

In 1921, Croydon Airport, London was the first

airport in the world to introduce Air Traffic Control.

The first ATC tower regulating all activities of

aircraft at a specific airport , opened in Cleveland in
1930

Approach/departure control facilities were created

after adoption of RADAR in the 1950s to monitor and
control the busy airspace around larger airports.
Operations Linked with ATC

Airport Control
Ground Control
Local Control / Air Control
Approach and Terminal Control
Airport Control

Air Traffic Controllers are responsible for the

separation and efficient movement of aircraft , and also
vehicles operating on the taxiways and runways of the
airport itself, and aircraft in the air near the airport,
generally 5 to 10 nautical miles (9 to 18 km) depending
on the airport procedures.

Controllers may use a radar system called Secondary

surveillance RADAR for airborne traffic approaching
and departing.
Run Way Taxiway
Ground Control

Ground control (sometimes known as ground

movement control) is responsible for the airport
"movement" areas, as well as areas not released
to the airlines or other users.

This generally includes all taxiways, inactive

runways, Holding Areas, and some transitional
aprons or intersections where aircraft arrive,
having vacated the runway or departure gate.
Local control / Air control
If local control detects any unsafe condition,
a landing aircraft may be told to “Go-Around"
and be re-sequenced into the landing pattern
by the approach or terminal area controller.

Ground control must request and gain

approval from local control to cross any
active runway with any aircraft or vehicle.
Approach & Terminal Control
•Terminal controllers are responsible for
providing all ATC services within their airspace

•Traffic flow is broadly divided into departures,

arrivals, and Over -flights

•Terminal control is responsible for ensuring that

aircraft are at an appropriate altitude when they
are handed off, and that aircraft arrive at a
suitable rate for landing.
RADAR coverage
•Long Range Radars are used and are Capable Enough at
higher altitudes, to see aircraft within 200 nautical miles
(370 km) of the radar antenna.

•A Radar Archive System (RAS) keeps an electronic

record of all radar information, preserving it for a few
weeks.

•When an aircraft has 'disappeared' from radar screens, a

controller can review the last radar returns from the
aircraft to determine its likely position.
Problems Faced by ATC

Two Major Problems :

•Traffic

•Weather
Aircraft Traffic & Weather Traffic at Airport
Weather Conditions

•Arrivals of Flights
•Departures
•Hopping Aircrafts
•Layovers
•Availability of Aero Bridges
•Vacant Runways

•Heavy Rains
•Low visibility of Runway and aircraft
•Thunderstorms
•Turbulence
•Crosswinds at Airport
•Heavy Snow Fall
 Call Signs 

In order to ensure safe Air Traffic separation Call

signs are Used by Air Traffic Controllers .

These are permanently allocated by ICAO on

request usually to Scheduled Flights and some air
forces for Military Flights.

They are written Call signs with 3-letter

combination like KLM, LH, SG followed by the
flight number, like AI 952 , SG 421 , 6E 879
Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) &
Air Traffic Service Providers ( ATSPs)
•INDIA – Airports Authority of India (AAI) (under Ministry
of Civil Aviation

•Malaysia – Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia (DCA)

•Singapore – Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)

•United Arab Emirates – General Civil Aviation Authority

(GCAA)

•United States– Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Functions of Air Traffic Control System

•Advising and updating pilots about nearby planes and

potentially hazardous conditions
•Issuing landing and take-off authorizations and instructions
•Transferring control of departing flights to traffic control
centers and accepting control of incoming flights
•Monitoring or directing aircraft within an airspace or on the
ground
•Compiling information about flights from flight plans, pilot
reports, radar or observations
Air traffic management (ATM) is an aviation term encompassing
all systems that assist aircraft to depart from an aerodrome, transit
airspace, and land at a destination aerodrome, including Air Traffic
Services (ATS), Airspace Management (ASM), and Air Traffic Flow
and Capacity Management (ATFCM).
The increasing emphasis of modern ATM is on interoperable and
harmonised systems that allow an aircraft to operate with the
minimum of performance change from one airspace to another. ATC
systems have traditionally been developed by individual States that
concentrated on their own requirements, creating different levels of
service and capability around the world. Many Air Navigation
Service Providers (ANSPs) do not provide an ATC service that
matches the capabilities of modern aircraft, so ICAO has developed
the Aviation System Block Upgrade (ASBU) initiative in order to
harmonise global planning of technology upgrades.
 A plane's movement — from preflight checks made at the gate through landing at
a destination airport — is closely coordinated by a series of air traffic controllers
at the origin airport, in the region, along the plane’s route and at the destination
airport. Each has a specific duty in the process, and is vital to the efficiency of air
travel in the United States.

HOW THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

WORKS
       1.Preflight: Weather information is obtained and a flight plan is filed. The
airport's air traffic control tower gives the plane a route clearance to fly, and it
pushes back from the gate. The tower tells the pilot which taxiways to use in
preparation for takeoff.

2.Takeoff: The local tower controller gives the plane clearance for takeoff.

3.Departure: After the plane is five miles beyond the airport, the control of the
plane is transferred to a Terminal Radar Approach facility, or TRACON. There
are 185 TRACONs in the U.S., including one in Elgin, that covers O’Hare and
Midway. During this phase, the aircraft is routed away from the airport via an
assigned route and altitude.
4.In the air: Oversight is handed off to an Air Route Traffic Control
Center, or ARTCC, a radar facility overseeing flights passing through its
zone. The Chicago Center covers parts of seven states. Controllers monitor
the flight and give instructions to the pilot as the aircraft passes through the
center’s airspace, from sector to sector.     
   
5.Descent: When the plane is within about 50 miles from its destination
airport, it is handed to the destination's TRACON controller.

6.Approach: The TRACON controller then blends several streams of

descending aircraft into one evenly paced, smooth-flowing line of aircraft
lined up for a particular runway.

7.Landing: The flight is handed off to the local controller stationed at the

destination airport's control tower. This local controller issues clearance for
landing. The aircraft lands and is handed off to the ground controller, who
directs the pilot across the taxiways to the destination gate.
Air Craft
Procedure
A flight procedure is the plan of operations that an aircraft has
to follow while in the vicinity of an airport, in order to depart or
land. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in an ATC Unit are
a specific set of procedures that specify how the unit’s
controllers’ ATC responsibilities are to be co-ordinated.

Many types of procedure are rigidly applied, especially in

regard to communication. However, with other types of
procedure modification may be permitted to suit individual
situations and personalities. Nevertheless, it should be
remembered that standard procedures are based on long years of
experience; if there is intent to modify an existing procedure,
careful consideration must be given to ensure that unforeseen
consequences do not result.
In Flight Operations, strict procedures are defined covering every aspect
of flight deck activity and embracing normal, abnormal and emergency
situations. This wide range of procedures and checklists is essential
because of the large number of situations which can arise and the critical
nature of some of these situations. Although these procedures are written
down in checklists and quick reference handbooks, pilots must be able to
perform certain vital actions from memory, referring to the written
procedure later to confirm that correct action has been taken.

Flight Operations procedures have been defined after much research in

order to ensure the most successful outcome from all reasonably likely
circumstances. They are not discretionary and must be followed precisely.
Failure to follow established procedures has been found to be a causal
factor in many aircraft accidents and serious incidents.
Types of SOP (Standard Operating Procedures)

SOPs published by an aircraft manufacturer are designed to:

Reflect the manufacturer's flight deck design philosophy and operating

philosophy.
Promote optimum use of aircraft design features and
Apply to a broad range of company operations and environments.

An aircraft manufacturer's SOPs can be adopted by a flying organization

without amendment, but are often used to develop customized company
SOPs.

SOPs published within ATC Units specify how ATCOs responsibilities are
to be coordinated.
 Instrument flight
rules
Instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing
all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight
rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's
(FAA) Instrument Flying Handbook defines IFR as: "Rules and
regulations established by the FAA to govern flight under conditions in
which flight by outside visual reference is not safe. IFR flight depends
upon flying by reference to instruments in the flight deck, and navigation
is accomplished by reference to electronic signals. It is also a term used
by pilots and controllers to indicate the type of flight plan an aircraft is
flying, such as an IFR or VFR flight plan.

When operation of an aircraft under VFR is not safe, because the visual
cues outside the aircraft are obscured by weather, instrument flight rules
must be used instead. IFR permits an aircraft to operate in instrument
meteorological conditions (IMC).