4.9 Topics for Discussion

1. What do almost all airports have in common?

2. What do you know about the structure of an airport?

3. Airport vehicles. Name them. What are they used for?

4. The history and devepolment of airports.

5. Airport design. What do you know about it?

6. Airport operations.

7. The biggest international airport (airports).

8. Importance of signs, lighting and markings at airports.

9. Air transportation of baggage.

10. The role of TWs in the airport structure.

11. What factors does the airport location depended on?

12. The role of RWs in the airport infrastructure.

13. Types of airports.

14. Give some reasons for aircraft delays.

15. If you were in charge of some particular airport, what would you do to improve the facilities?

Unit 5 atco’s workload

5.1 Atc Centre. Air Traffic Control Specialist

Exercise 5.1.1 Read and translate the text.

Nature of the work

An air traffic control specialist (ATCS) is often described as one who provides for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow or air traffic. It is their function to direct air traffic so it flows smoothly, efficiently and safety above all on the ground and in the air.

Terminal (Tower) Controller

Terminal controllers control air traffic at airports and give pilots taxiing and take off instructions, air traffic clearances, and advice based on their own observations and information from the Meteorological Office, air route traffic control centres (ACCs), flight service stations, pilots, and other sources. They provide separation between landing and departing aircraft. They transfer control of aircraft to the ACC controller when the aircraft leaves their airspace, and they receive control of aircraft coming into their airspace from controllers at adjacent facilities. Air traffic controllers must be familiar with the aircraft identification and positions of the aircraft under their control, aircraft types and speed, the location of navigational aids and landmarks in the area. They provide information about weather conditions for specific flights, receive and forward pilot’s flight plans, relay air traffic control instructions, assist pilots in emergency situations, provide airport advisory service, and initiate searchers for missing or overdue aircraft.

Area Control Centre Controller

Air traffic control specialists at ACC give aircraft instructions, air traffic clearances, and advice regarding flight conditions while en route between airports. They provide separation between aircraft flying along the airways or operating into or out airports not served by a terminal facility. Centre controllers use radar, or in some cases, manual procedures to track the progress of all instrument flights within the centre’s airspace. Where radar coverage is available and their workload permits, ACC controllers also provide radar service to pilots who are not on instrument flight plans, alerting them to potential traffic conflicts. Controllers transfer control of aircraft to controllers in adjacent centres, or approach control, or terminal.

Working conditions

The controllers normally work a thirty-six-hour week using radio, radar, electronic computers, telephone, traffic control light, and other devices for communication. Shift work is necessary. Each controller at Airport Control Tower is responsible, at separate times, for giving taxiing instructions to aircraft on the ground, take off instructions and air traffic clearances, and directing landing of incoming planes. These individual duties are rotated among the staff about every two hours at busy locations. At busy times, controllers must work rapidly, and mental detail demands increase as traffic mounts, especially when poor flying conditions occur and traffic stacks up. Brief rest periods provide some relief, but are not always possible. Radar controllers usually work in semi-darkness.