AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT

HELLO! You are welcome to the blog.

On today’s post, we shall be discussing, air traffic control and its management. 

I am sure a lot of you must have had a contact with this sector before, or better put a relation with their duties and control.

They are credited as  one of the factors why that plane you see flying over your head has not collided into another or has gone lost in transit.

You might wonder, how would they go missing in transit? This is very possible in a case where some extenuating factors frustrate the interference of the air traffic control.

You must note, that not everyone is given a licence to operate in this department, the primary Authority in Nigeria, which regulates the Aviation Sector, in this case, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority must have issued this licence to the holder with a rating for the function and an endorsement for the place where, or the airspace in relation to which, he or she carries it out.. This can be found under part 14.1.33.2 

Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a Country above its territory, including its territorial waters, or more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace which is the general term for earth’s atmosphere and the outer space in its vicinity.

Air traffic management 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 International Civil Aviation Organization has developed the Aviation System Block Upgrade initiative in order to harmonize global planning of technology upgrades due to the many Air Navigation Service Providers who do not provide an ATC service that matches the capabilities of modern aircraft.

Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of the ATC  worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots.

Part 14 of the Nig. Civil Aviation Regulation provides for air traffic services which include; designation of airspace, designation of control area, flight information regions, establishment and identification of ATS Routes, responsibility for control of air traffic and other related matters.

It also goes ahead to define air traffic  management as the dynamic, integrated management of air traffic and airspace (including air traffic services, airspace management and air traffic flow management)-safely, economically and efficiently-through the provision of facilities and seamless services in collaboration with all parties and involving airborne and ground-based functions.

Air traffic control services are provided by the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations make extensive provisions for air traffic control and require a pilot in command to request and obtain air traffic control clearance through the submission of a flight plan to an air traffic control facility before operating a controlled flight or a portion of a controlled flight. The regulations also require the pilot in command to inform air traffic control of his or her scheduled path and maintain two-way communication at all times. The pilot is prohibited from deviating from air traffic control instructions except in an emergency.

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) was established by the Nigerian government in 1999. The organization is responsible for the provision of air navigation services throughout the Nigerian Flight Information Region. This included at the country’s 25 towered airports and at its two air traffic control centres. The agency provides air traffic control, air navigation, charting and consulting services which they strive to develop in line with the requirements of the ICAO standards and recommended practices.

Airspace management prevents mutual interference from all users of the airspace facilitates air defence identification, and accommodates the flow of all air traffic safely. The responsibility for the control of all aircraft operating within a given block of airspace shall be vested in a single air traffic control unit. However, control of an aircraft or groups of aircraft may be delegated to other air traffic control units provided that coordination between all air traffic control units concerned are assured.

Air control is also responsible for the active runway surfaces. Air control clears aircraft for takeoff or landing, ensuring that prescribed runway separation will exist at all times. If the air traffic controller detects any unsafe conditions, a landing aircraft may be instructed to go-around and be re-sequenced into the landing pattern which may be handled by the air controller, approach or terminal area controller.

A highly disciplined communications process between the air control and ground control is an absolute necessity. Air control must ensure that ground control is aware of any operations that will impact the taxiways, and work with the approach radar controllers to create ‘gaps’ in the arrival traffic to allow taxing traffic to cross runways and to allow departing aircraft to take off.

Basically, the operational concept of global air traffic management requires total system performance on safety, regularity, efficiency, autonomy of flight, situational awareness, separation assurance, collision avoidance, optimization of traffic flows, air traffic management regional concept and certification and quality assurance.

Other airspace areas include:

1.      Local Airport Advisory

2.      Military Training Route (MTR)

3.      Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR)

4.      Parachute Jump Aircraft Operations

5.      Published VFR Routes

6.      Terminal Radar Service Area (TRSA)

7.      National Security Area (NSA)

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