Air Traffic Control: Behind the Scenes

Off you go to the airport. You're flying off for your weekend vacation. Have you ever wondered what's happening behind the scenes to get you from point A to point B? Have you heard about the stressful job of an air traffic controller? Or maybe you've heard about the shortage of controllers and upcoming retirements. Maybe you heard about the contract negotiation issues that arose between controllers and management. Or possibly you never even thought about who your pilot might be talking to during the flight. The reality is that a set of air traffic control specialists handle your flight, and thousands of other flights, through every phase.

On your trip you start with clearance delivery, then a ground controller takes over, you switch to the local controller, go on to the arrival/departure controller, spend most of your flight with en-route controllers, and then arrive at your destination in the reverse order.

Clearance Delivery

You are at the gate, all boarding the plane, getting comfortable in your seats, storing your carry-on items, and pulling out your crossword puzzles to stay occupied for the next couple hours. You figure your pilots are up front readying your aircraft for flight. But up in the tower, located somewhere on the airport grounds, a controller is also readying for your flight. Your pilot has called them and requested a clearance. The controller reads the over the radio, including the route of flight you will fly, the altitude you will fly at, and the time you can depart.

Route. The route of flight you will fly includes standard procedures out of the airport that keep the flow organized and manageable. All aircraft fly one of a few procedures between their lift-off point and the start of their climb. The clearance will make sure you are separated from all other aircraft departing shortly before or after you. Following the departure procedures the route contains a set of fixes that the aircraft will fly between that will bring you to your destination.