Coordination between facilities

[midwestpa24]

Since I have a scanner in my office listening to CTAF and Center, I had a question for our ATC brethren.

How does the coordination communication work between ATC facilities? Is it literally picking up a phone and calling the other facility? Are you able to patch through to the other controller directly? Is there a text message type of system you can use? I often hear Center tell aircraft to standby while they coordinate a request.

 

[Seanaldinho]

The communications panel that controllers use to select frequencies is configured that half the panel is frequencies (where they can select transmit and / or receive) and the other half is "phone" lines that they press to call another position. This can be inside the facility to the next sector, to traffic management, to the supervisor, or outside to a different facility (i.e. a different center or approach or tower) or even to airport ops or another phone number.

They can also dial anyone they know the number for - not sure actual phone numbers work though. They do all of this through their regular headset, but other countries do sometimes use a hand held phone. Often in a center the controller (R-Side) is working with another controller to make calls and do coordination for them (D-side) as a team.

Photo stolen from the internet:

TX = transmit
RX = receive

G/G = ground to ground (with multiple pages)
The circle on the button means it is a shoutline. You press and hold and can talk directly without someone having to answer the call. Regular dial lines the receiving controller has to "answer" the call by pressing the button on their side.

 

[midwestpa24]

The communications panel that controllers use to select frequencies is configured that half the panel is frequencies (where they can select transmit and / or receive) and the other half is "phone" lines that they press to call another position. This can be inside the facility to the next sector, to traffic management, to the supervisor, or outside to a different facility (i.e. a different center or approach or tower) or even to airport ops or another phone number.

They can also dial anyone they know the number for - not sure actual phone numbers work though. They do all of this through their regular headset, but other countries do sometimes use a hand held phone. Often in a center the controller (R-Side) is working with another controller to make calls and do coordination for them (D-side) as a team.

Photo stolen from the internet:
View attachment 123216
TX = transmit
RX = receive

G/G = ground to ground (with multiple pages)
The circle on the button means it is a shoutline. You press and hold and can talk directly without someone having to answer the call. Regular dial lines the receiving controller has to "answer" the call by pressing the button on their side.

Excellent answer, thanks! I always wondered how streamlined (or not) the process is.

 

[robin ardoin]

Read Andy Watson's book- A Pilot's Guide to Air Traffic Control.

Short read but gives insight how ATC functions from Tower to Center and all in between while giving real life anecdotes to help pilots help ATC, and ultimately make their flying easier.

 

[BillTIZ]

The communications panel that controllers use to select frequencies is configured that half the panel is frequencies (where they can select transmit and / or receive) and the other half is "phone" lines that they press to call another position. This can be inside the facility to the next sector, to traffic management, to the supervisor, or outside to a different facility (i.e. a different center or approach or tower) or even to airport ops or another phone number.

They can also dial anyone they know the number for - not sure actual phone numbers work though. They do all of this through their regular headset, but other countries do sometimes use a hand held phone. Often in a center the controller (R-Side) is working with another controller to make calls and do coordination for them (D-side) as a team.

Photo stolen from the internet:
View attachment 123216
TX = transmit
RX = receive

G/G = ground to ground (with multiple pages)
The circle on the button means it is a shoutline. You press and hold and can talk directly without someone having to answer the call. Regular dial lines the receiving controller has to "answer" the call by pressing the button on their side.

That has changed a ton since I was doing ATC. We had "hot lines" on the overhead panel above the radar. Touch a button and call it out. "Pease, Manchester, Handoff, 20NE Concord, 46J, 6000", The other controller would respond "accepted" or what ever he needed, then you could release the line. Calling out to other places like towers or flight service you had to wait for them to pick up the line.

 

[Velocity173]

Only thing I’d add to the above is if calling intrafacility it’ll go over in the controller’s headset. If calling interfacility, it goes out a speaker until they pick up the line.

Interfacility example-
(Speaker) “Charleston, Beaufort 68 line point out.”

“Charleston go ahead.”

“10 miles southwest Charleston, 1234 code, a flight of two F-18s 11,000 direct Beaufort looking for lower.”

“Point out approved, Charlie Mike.”

“Thanks, Papa Tango.”

 

[weilke]

Does every handoff require a controller to controller call or is there an automated process for routine ops, e.g. airliners coming down a STAR ?

 

[luvflyin]

Does every handoff require a controller to controller call or is there an automated process for routine ops, e.g. airliners coming down a STAR ?

No to the first half of the question and yes to the second. Handoff procedures are specified in LOA’s, Letters of Agreement for interfacility transfers of control, and SOP’s, Standard Operating Procedure for intrafacility transfers of control. Most of the time planes are on the route/altitude specified in the LOA/SOP so verbal coordination is not required. The transferring controller pushes a button that causes the data block to start flashing on the receiving controllers scope and his own. The receiving controller then pushes a button to accept the handoff and the flashing stops so the transferring controller knows the handoff has been accepted and ships the plane to the receiving controller. There are variations to this depending on the types of Radars the facilities have. Some the whole data block flashes, some just one field of the data block ‘blinks.’
Often a brief verbal communication will accompany what is otherwise a ‘silent handoff’ as described above. Like N12345 is reduced to 210, heading 180, descending to 8000 etc if anything differs from the LOA/SOP. Or they may throw in a he wants the whatever approach, is min fuel etc

 

[Velocity173]

Does every handoff require a controller to controller call or is there an automated process for routine ops, e.g. airliners coming down a STAR ?

Nah, the whole point in calling on the landline is to transfer radar ID manually. You have to give information (position, AC ID, Alt, pertinent info) that would otherwise be confirmed during an automated handoff.

Now, during an automated handoff you might key up the landline and shout out something like “Viper16 your control” or “Mooney 345 descending to (alt).” Basically last minute things that aren’t in the info on the flight progress strip.

 

[luvflyin]

That has changed a ton since I was doing ATC. We had "hot lines" on the overhead panel above the radar. Touch a button and call it out. "Pease, Manchester, Handoff, 20NE Concord, 46J, 6000", The other controller would respond "accepted" or what ever he needed, then you could release the line. Calling out to other places like towers or flight service you had to wait for them to pick up the line.

The communications panel that controllers use to select frequencies is configured that half the panel is frequencies (where they can select transmit and / or receive) and the other half is "phone" lines that they press to call another position. This can be inside the facility to the next sector, to traffic management, to the supervisor, or outside to a different facility (i.e. a different center or approach or tower) or even to airport ops or another phone number.

They can also dial anyone they know the number for - not sure actual phone numbers work though. They do all of this through their regular headset, but other countries do sometimes use a hand held phone. Often in a center the controller (R-Side) is working with another controller to make calls and do coordination for them (D-side) as a team.

Photo stolen from the internet:
View attachment 123216
TX = transmit
RX = receive

G/G = ground to ground (with multiple pages)
The circle on the button means it is a shoutline. You press and hold and can talk directly without someone having to answer the call. Regular dial lines the receiving controller has to "answer" the call by pressing the button on their side.

That’s an interesting one. Restroom, engine room. Do you know what equipment that is?

EDIT: don’t know what happened, thought I was just replying to @Seanaldinho not @BillTIZ

 

[luvflyin]

Nah, the whole point in calling on the landline is to transfer radar ID manually. You have to give information (position, AC ID, Alt, pertinent info) that would otherwise be confirmed during an automated handoff.

Now, during an automated handoff you might key up the landline and shout out something like “Viper16 your control” or “Mooney 345 descending to (alt).” Basically last minute things that aren’t in the info on the flight progress strip.

Or maybe a ‘treat this guy with kid gloves, he’s mad at us.’ And he was, his voice was dripping with hate when he checked in.

 

[luvflyin]

That has changed a ton since I was doing ATC. We had "hot lines" on the overhead panel above the radar. Touch a button and call it out. "Pease, Manchester, Handoff, 20NE Concord, 46J, 6000", The other controller would respond "accepted" or what ever he needed, then you could release the line. Calling out to other places like towers or flight service you had to wait for them to pick up the line.

Where did you work and when?

 

[Seanaldinho]

That’s an interesting one. Restroom, engine room. Do you know what equipment that is?

EDIT: don’t know what happened, thought I was just replying to @Seanaldinho not @BillTIZ

Those likely go to call boxes/phones at or near those rooms (also its likely Engineering room) so that people at the door can be buzzed in or support staff can report on issues.

Does every handoff require a controller to controller call or is there an automated process for routine ops, e.g. airliners coming down a STAR ?

Echo the above - automation handles 90% of handoffs. Radar controller initiates a handoff to the next sector and it starts flashing on the new guys scope, they click on the target to accept the handoff, then the old controller gives them the new frequency and so long. If someone doesn't take the hand off in time, you can passive aggressively call them and do a manual handoff - or you can as others mention give some info/get permission on something that is outside of the LOA or a headsup on something a little different than normal.

Phone calls can be a point-out or an appreq (approval request). A point-out says "hey this guy might infringe on your airspace / one of your targets - is that ok, do you want me to do something else, do you want control?" and the other controller "coordinates" a solution. An appreq can give you permission to do pretty much anything you might need to do outside of written agreements. The difference between the two is a point-out includes sharing radar ID with the other controller while an appreq does not. Which goes down the rabbit hole of what radar ID is in the ATC context...

 

[Wrench978]

I’ll chime in to add that on the panel shown above, the circle means that you are monitoring that position (at least at my facility). So if you punched (LC) in the circle, you would hear the controller talking and the pilots on that frequency.

 

[BillTIZ]

Where did you work and when?

ZBOS, Boston ARTCC, 1975-1981, FPL qualified on 8 sectors, 4 Lo, 4 Hi. Left to join the AF and fly.