| Clearance | Apron / Ground | Tower | Terminal | Centre | FSS |
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.
The Terminal control unit (Arrivals/Departures/Terminal) is responsible for the totality of it's Terminal Control Area (TCA), which is usually class C or D 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).
In addition to the general guidelines, a Centre controller must:
Important: All IVAO controllers, regardless of division, MUST have passed an oral evaluation with the training staff before attempting to control a radar position.
You will need the following additional information:
Below are some procedures explained. However, 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 Resources section.
On initial contact, terminal controller should provide weather information to arriving traffic by giving the tower ATIS letter if possible.
If arrival routes (STARs) exist at the airport, pilots are expected to arrive via a STAR by putting the name of the route at the end of the flight plan. Pilots don't need a clearance to fly a STAR because it is considered to be part of their flight plan route. The route will change depending on the active runway, therefore it is important to provide the arriving traffic with the runway to be used before they enter the STAR. All altitudes / descents and speed restrictions must be issued by ATC on the STAR. Depending on the route, at the end of the STAR, aircraft are able to intercept the final approach course by themselves if the appropriate clearance is received, or radar vectors can be provided to intercept the final approach course.
If providing radar vectors, always state the reason. For example, "vectors for traffic, turn left heading 270". On commencement of radar vectoring to final approach the pilot is to be advised that he will be radar vectored to intercept the final approach, and include the type of approach and runway where the aircraft is vectored to.
Aircraft should not be vectored so as to be established on final approach less then 5nm from touchdown. If it is necessary to vector an aircraft through the final approach track, the pilot should be notified.
Aircraft shall be vectored onto the localiser course or onto an appropriate (30 - 40 degrees) closing heading to enable the pilot to complete the turn onto the final approach track.
Controllers shall vector aircraft onto the final approach track or a heading to close at an angle not greater than 40 degrees offset. Whenever possible, the aircraft is to be established on the final approach track before the final approach fix to enable it to cross the final approach fix at the altitude/height specified in the notified procedure.
For procedures that are not supported by a DME, the controller shall pass a range check before clearing the aircraft for an approach. If a procedure is supported by a DME, a range check does not have to be passed at this time.
To expedite traffic, IFR flights may be authorised to execute a visual approach if the pilot reports that he has the airport in sight. Reported visibility must be 3SM or greater, and the reported ceiling must be 500 feet above the appropriate Minimum IFR Altitude. Standard seperation between such aircraft and others shall still be applied.
Controllers may request pilots to increase or decrease speed in order to maintain separation and spacing between successive landing or departing aircraft. Speed adjustments shall not be requested or applied after the aircraft has passed a point 4nm from the threshold on final approach. Controllers shall advise pilots when speed control is no longer required.
Missed approaches, when initiated by ATC, are usually done by tower as it controls traffic on the final approach leg. However, before the traffic is handed off to tower, it is possible to cancel the approach clearance if:
When sequencing of IFR flights is in operation, sufficient information is to be passed to pilots of VFR and Special VFR flights to enable them to integrate safely into the landing sequence. If it is necessary for a VFR flight to be given a radar vector, or specific routeing instructions, the pilot shall be instructed to advise the controller if the routeing or vector will prevent the pilot from remaining in VMC. If it is necessary for a Special VFR flight to be given radar vectors to establish it in the landing sequence, controllers shall ensure that vectors given do not preclude the responsibility for the pilot to remain clear of cloud and in sight of the surface and keep clear of obstacles by visual reference to the surface.
ATC has a responsibility to prevent collisions between known flights and to maintain a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of traffic. This objective is met by passing sufficient traffic information and instructions to assist pilots to see and avoid each other. It is accepted that occasionally when workload is high, the traffic information passed on aircraft in Class E, F and G airspace may be generic rather than specific.
When the type of airspace permits it, instructions issued to VFR flights may comprise routeing instructions, visual holding instructions and altitude restrictions in order to establish a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of traffic and to provide for the effective management of overall ATC workload. For example, routeing instructions may be issued which will reduce or eliminate points of conflict with other flights, such as final approach tracks and circuit areas, with a consequent reduction in the workload associated with passing extensive traffic information. When issuing instructions to VFR flights controllers should be aware of the over-riding requirements for the pilot to remain in VMC, to avoid obstacles and to remain within the privileges of his licence. This may result in the pilot requesting an alternative clearance, particularly in marginal weather conditions.
Radar controllers in particular should exercise extreme caution in radar vectoring VFR flights – a geographical routeing instruction is preferable. Prior to radar vectoring the controller must establish with the pilot the need to report if headings issued are not acceptable due to the requirements to remain in VMC, avoid obstacles, and comply with the low flying rules. Controllers should be aware that pilots of some VFR flights may not be sufficiently experienced to comply accurately with radar headings, or to recover to visual navigation after radar vectoring.
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.
Coordination with other units
Terminal must maintain constant coordination with tower and centre, if opened.
This section includes additional MANOPS procedures that have been approved and can be applied in Canada.
No special procedures exist for this position at this time.
Terminal controller is responsible of the terminal airspace surrounding one or multiple airports. His main role is to climb departures to the top of his zone and to transfer them to centre. He also has to descend arrivals, provide them with instructions to join the final approach and hand them off to tower. Each terminal has its own type of airspace, don't forget to read the local procedures to know what's your type of airspace and rules that apply.
Terminal must climb and descend aircraft as quickly as possible while avoiding conflicts. Minimum spacing is 1 000 ft vertically and 5 nm laterally. To ensure that, use of restrictions and instructions is necessary. It is impossible to show an example of all possible instructions but we will show here the restrictions you can use. To avoid conflicts, it has to be planned well in advance. If an aircraft departs westbound and you have an arrival from the west, you must plan ahead to avoid a conflict situation. Here are some solutions:
A departure aircraft will call you shortly after takeoff. Identify him on the radar, then climb him to the top of your zone, unless another aircraft in the vicinity prevents you to do it. Also, you can give 1) headings, or 2) directs so the pilot can join his flight plan route as soon as possible. It is important to know preferred exit routes to separate outbound traffic from arrivals. Before your departure leaves your zone, transfer him to the centre controller or release him to enroute frequencies if centre is closed.
Arrival aircraft are supposed to fly arrival routes (STARs) if they exist at your airport. Many pilots don't have charts when flying, therefore they won't be able to know the correct route published on the STAR. In that case, provide those pilots with radar vectors to intercept the final approach. If you have multiple aircraft on the same STAR or on converging STARs, use restrictions as discussed earlier to prevent conflicts.
For the approach interception, give an interception heading that makes a 30 to 40 degrees angle with the inbound track. Plan the interception at approximately 10 to 12 nm from threshold at the interception altitude shown on the approach chart.
Transfer aircraft to tower when established on final approach, between around 7 and 12nm from threshold.
When you have an aircraft transiting your terminal, once again, use restrictions to avoid conflicts with the other aircraft you may have in the vicinity.
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: