Air navigation management
ATM and ANS
Two umbrella terms that meet at ATS: Air Traffic Management is provided alongside Air Navigation Services, and Air Traffic Services belongs to both.
Organises and handles the flow of traffic so it does not overfill an airspace, keeping the traffic within what ATC and its systems can handle.
Works to optimise the airspace: aims to maximise the utilisation of the airspace available.
Handles everything to do with the communication, navigation and surveillance infrastructure within aviation.
Meteorological services for aviation: forecasts, warnings and charts, for example.
Provides all the parts of aviation information required by pilots, ATS staff, airlines and so on.
Not part of either group, and each with one job.
Receives, assembles, translates, selects, formats, distributes and integrates aeronautical data.
Designs flight procedures, and their documentation and validation. Subject, where necessary, to approval by the competent authority.
The functions performed by the Network Manager.
Air Traffic Services
ATS is a group of services that together promote a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic. There are four of them.
Prevents collisions between aircraft, and between aircraft and obstructions on the manoeuvring area. Expedites and maintains an orderly flow of air traffic.
Gives information and advice for the safe and efficient conduct of flights.
Notifies appropriate organisations regarding aircraft in need of search and rescue aid, and assists such organisations as required.
Provided within advisory airspace to help ensure separation, for IFR flights only. Advisory airspace is a temporary measure: it is only allowed to stay in place for 3 years, while a more permanent solution, usually full ATC, is put in place.
The units that provide them
Two of the four split further: ATC into three units and FIS into two. Which one you get depends on where the aircraft is.
- TWRAir Traffic ControlAerodrome control towerProvides aerodrome control service: traffic at the aerodrome itself, taking off, landing and taxiing.
- APPAir Traffic ControlApproach controlProvides approach control service: arriving and departing traffic close to the aerodrome, between the tower and the en-route phase.
- ACCAir Traffic ControlArea control centreProvides area control service: traffic further out, in the control areas along its route.
- AFISFlight Information ServiceAerodrome Flight Information ServiceFlight information and alerting at an aerodrome that has no control tower.
- FISFlight Information ServiceEn-route flight information serviceFlight information and alerting away from an aerodrome, during the en-route phase.
Which form of FIS you are getting depends on where the aircraft is, not on what it is asking for. At an aerodrome without a control tower it is AFIS; away from one it is en-route FIS. LAW 007 meets AFIS again, as the unit a flight plan is filed with.
Who needs them, and who provides them
What decides that a state needs these services, and who is allowed to run them.
A company or organisation providing one, several, or all of the ANS services.
- Government
- Government-owned autonomous entities
- Private ownership and participation, or involvement
International agencies and funding
Some providers work across borders. All of them are funded the same way: by what they cost to run, not by what they can charge.
A separate entity providing air navigation services on behalf of two or more sovereign states.
- ASECNAAfrica and MadagascarAgence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation Aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar
- COCESNACentral AmericaCorporación Centroamericana de Servicios de Navegación Aérea
- MUACBenelux and part of north-west GermanyMaastricht Upper Area Control Centre, run by EUROCONTROL
Charges come as route charges, and approach and aerodrome charges, from the airports and airlines using the service; the revenue is allocated to air navigation services.
- Number of flights
- Distance flown
- Time in the system
- Aircraft weight
- Fuel intake