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Departures / Arrivals / Terminal


Clearance Apron / Ground Tower Terminal Centre Radio / FSS

Description

Larger airports will have dedicated controllers working the surrounding TCA. These controllers provide service to aircraft departing from, and arriving at the airport(s) within their zone, as well as en-route traffic flying through the TCA. Terminal controllers are also responsible for the delivery of all IFR clearances for aircraft departing from airports within the TCA.

The callsign of this position varies depending on the status of the aircraft (arriving/departing/passing through) and whether the controller is alone, or working the sector with someone else.

  • If working the sector alone (e.g. xxxx_APP) you callsign will be Departures for all departing aircraft, Terminal for en-route aircraft, and Arrivals for arriving aircraft.
    As this is a little annoying to remember is is acceptable for you to only use the Terminal callsign in your ATIS.
  • If working the sector with another controller where your airspace is split by zone (e.g. xxxx_S_APP and xxxx_N_APP) the above applies. (Even if the callsign varies)
  • If working the sector with another controller where your airspace is shared (one person is managing departures, the other arrivals) the Arrivals (APP) controller will use his Arrivals callsign, and only manage arrivals. The Departure (DEP) controller will use Departures and Terminal managing departures and en-route traffic.

Area of responsibility

The Terminal control unit (Arrivals/Departures/Terminal) is responsible for the totality of it's Terminal Control Area (TCA), which is usually class D or C airspace.

The lateral dimensions vary from airport to airport, see the information pages and the appropriate sector files.

Note: Many TCAs cover more than one airport. The terminal will provide service for all airports within it's zone, so it is very important to be familiar with the smaller airports in your area as well.

When Clearance, Ground and Tower is not online the Terminal controller takes responsibility of the these positions as well. If the sector is shared (option 3 above) The Departures controller takes responsibility for Tower/Ground functions. (This may give the illusion that DEP has all the work, but sequencing arrivals is far more complex then managing departures, so the workload ends up being about equal).

What you need to know

In addition to the general guidelines, a Terminal controller must:

  • Be familiar with the Clearance delivery SOP;
  • Be familiar with the Apron/Ground control SOP;
  • Be familiar with the Tower control SOP;
  • Know the local procedures for all the airports within the Terminal Control Area;
  • Understand the different airspace divisions within the Terminal Control Area;
  • Know all SIDs and STARs, and when to use them;
  • Understand the principles of vectoring, and sequencing aircraft;
  • Understand noise abatement procedures when applicable;
  • Know all separation minima for arriving, departing and en-route traffic.

Important: All IVAO controllers, regardless of division, MUST have passed an oral evaluation with the CA-AOC, CA-TC, or local FIR chief before attempting to control a radar position.

Procedures

Firstly you'll need the following information:

  • The CA custom sector file for the given sector;
  • The complete collection of charts for the all airports within the TCA.

It would be unrealistic to try and note down all the guidelines for Terminal control in this document. Instead we refer you to MANOPS section 4 and 5, available in our downloads section. If the two chapters are too daunting you are welcome to contact our training staff for a one-to-one explanation.

Hand off

  • Hand off departures and en-route traffic to the adjacent sector at least 2 minutes, or 2000ft before the pilot is expected to leave your zone to provide time for call-up. DO NOT tell pilot to change frequency until radar hand-off is accepted. If hand-off is rejected keep the pilot in your airspace, and co-ordinate with the adjacent sector;
  • Hand off arrivals to the tower once established on the ILS, 5-8 nautical miles from the threshold. The exact time and wording will depend on the local airport procedures, which are available in the FIR pages.

IvAc settings

We recommend you use the NAVCAN blue-grey colour scheme (available in the downloads section) with range rings set to 5nm, VORs, NDBs (no name), Fixes (no name), General and LO airspace boundaries, Geographical data, runways. and relevant SIDs (i.e. Sector boundaries, CYR/A zones and TCA exit points) turned on. Toggle airways, airport names, and STARs as needed.

Select altitude filter limits that include as a minimum:

  • the altitudes normally under the jurisdiction of your sector; and
  • the first usable altitude in any vertically adjoining airspace under the jurisdiction of another controller, plus 200 feet beyond that altitude.
    Example: A sector that has jurisdiction of the airspace from the Surface to FL230 would set its altitude filters at 000 and 242.

See ATC school documentation on terminal position.