These two departments are located at our main building in Schiphol-Oost and not in the tower, as explained in our blog “ 6 Air traffic control myths busted”.Public and private sectors, both military and civil. As soon as the boundary of one work area has been reached, responsibility for the aircraft is transferred to the next air traffic control unit.īoth Approach and ACC are fully reliant on radar. As soon as they have been guided to their correct flight path, they want to climb to their cruising altitude as soon as possible. This usually happens when there are delays, mainly due to bad weather, and it ensures that aircraft don’t have to crisscross the country while waiting.Īircraft departing from Schiphol follow this route in reverse. Traffic on its way to Schiphol is guided from the Dutch borders to waiting areas, where aircraft fly around in holding patterns until they are allowed to land. The ACC controllers handle traffic flying at altitudes between 4 and 8 km, mainly heading to and from Schiphol, but also bound for airports such as Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Brussels, Düsseldorf and London. The work area of the ACC extends from the southern border of the Netherlands to far beyond of the Waddeneilanden along the northern coast, and from the English border in the west to the German border in the east. The people at the Area Control Centre (ACC) are responsible for air traffic in the higher reaches of Dutch airspace. The Approach controllers are there to ensure that this happens safely.Īrea Control Centre – high-altitude traffic Aircraft regularly cross each other’s paths while executing these incoming and outgoing movements at Schiphol. The Approach controllers coordinate traffic that is waiting over the North Sea and Flevoland and Zeeland provinces, directing them towards the airport and “zipping” them into line for their approach to the runway.Īt the same time, the Approach controllers ensure that aircraft departing from Schiphol are guided onto the right flight paths. The Approach controllers are in charge of separating traffic arriving at and departing from the airport. The Approach department handles traffic within a radius of approximately 50 km from Schiphol, to an altitude of around 4 km. Approach – separating approaching and departing traffic Aircraft that are further from the airport and therefore not visible to air traffic controllers are the responsibility of radar controllers. In short, Tower is in charge of all visible traffic. This includes aircraft on the taxiways and runways, as well as airborne traffic and any vehicles driving around the airport. The air traffic controllers who work in the Tower are responsible for traffic at and around the airport, within a radius of approximately 15 km. We are always in direct contact with the military air traffic controllers.Īt Schiphol, air traffic control is subdivided into three departments: Tower (TWR), Approach (APP) and the Area Control Centre (ACC). We do, however, direct any traffic on its way to and from Eindhoven passing through our airspace. This means the armed forces are in charge of air traffic control in Eindhoven. That’s because Eindhoven is a military airfield, which falls under military airspace. Some readers will note that Eindhoven is missing from the above list. LVNL employs around 950 people, 250 of whom are air traffic controllers, who work at Schiphol, Rotterdam, Beek and Eelde airports. We work for an organisation called Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL), which is responsible for coordinating civilian air traffic over the Netherlands. I’ve been an air traffic controller for over 10 years, and I’d like to explain how things work and what we do.Ī lot of people think that air traffic controllers work for KLM or Schiphol, but that isn’t the case. Where pilots ensure that their aircraft stays safely airborne, air traffic controllers ensure that they have safe routes to follow. Save Saved Save for later Saved for laterĪir traffic controllers play an essential role in ensuring safe air traffic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |