Air Control Towers and Flight Service Stations

 Air Traffic Control Towers and Flight Service Stations

       We all undoubtedly know about the tall round building at airports and probably have some idea of what they do. You probably would be surprised that they are just a small part of the bigger picture of your safety and the safety of others. Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCT) handle airport operations, takeoff, landing, and aircraft flight plans. You probably didn't know that there are about 1.5K Flight Service Stations (FSS) scattered across the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (Flight, 2021). So what do these entities do? How are they different from each other?

An ATCT is usually the tallest building on an airfield and is topped with a glass room that has people controlling what goes on at the airport. The ATCT has three primary operations: ground operations, approving launches, and filing flight plans (Freudenrich, 2021). These operations are done by different people inside there. The flight data person is responsible for filing the aircraft's flight plan, including inputting the plan into the FAA host computer (Freudenrich, 2021). The ground controller's job is to monitor the aircraft transitioning to and from the terminal and the runway (Freudenrich, 2021). They use the ground radar to ensure aircraft are not crossing runways causing incursions, and ensure a smooth flow throughout the airfield (Freudenrich, 2021). The local controller's job is to monitor the airspace above the airfield (Freudenrich, 2021). Once the aircraft takes off, it is handed off electronically to the departing controller at the Terminal radar approach control (TRACON) (Freudenrich, 2021). This is the end of the ATCT at your departing location (Freudenrich, 2021). Arrival at your destination airport is much of this operation but in reverse order.

A Flight Service Station has a very different responsibility compared to an ATCT. FSS have been around for more than 100 years and used to be along the transcontinental airmail routes (Flight, 2021). These air traffic facilities are primarily relay stations for information on the flight path of an aircraft. You can reach FSS by radio or by telephone (Flight, 2021). They help file flight plans, update in-flight pilots on weather and NAS information, provide search and rescue services, issue NOTAMs, monitor NAVAIDs, and in Alaska, provide Transcribed Weather Broadcasts (TWEB) recordings, just to name a few services (PHAK, 2016). They are there to help pilots determine a go/no-go situation and assist in relaying critical information on the flight path ahead. 

           As you can see from the above, the two entities are very different in their responsibilities. The ATCT is at the center of everything and is responsible for aircraft ground movements, launches, landings, and flight plans. Although an FSS does file flight plans, it is primarily an informational service that gives pilots warnings ahead of time to determine the safety of flight. The ATCT and FSS have similarities in that they provide weather forecasts and file flight plans, but their responsibilities are very different. These two entities, although different, play a significant role in aviation safety.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (2016). Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK). Retrieved October 27, 2021,  from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/pilot_handbook.pdf

Flight Service  (2021, June 17. RCO_VOR_Master_list-061721 [ Excel Spreadsheet]. FAA. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/fs/media/RCO_VOR_Master_List_061721.xlsx

Flight Service. (2021, June 23). FAA. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/systemops/fs/

Freudenrich, C., PhD. (2021, May 15). How Air Traffic Control Works. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/air-traffic-control.htm

Rodrigues, E. (n.d.). Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT), Mumbai. Dreamstime.Com. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.dreamstime.com/editorial-photo-chhatrapati-shivaji-international-airport%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2s-air-traffic-control-tower-atct-mumbai-standing-over-meters-commands-image56893986

U.S.-NAS - eoPortal Directory - Satellite Missions. (n.d.). EO Portal Directory. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/u/us-nas

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