Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZBW; in radio communications, "Boston Center") is one of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States, located in Nashua, New Hampshire.
The primary responsibility of ZBW is the separation of overflights, and the expedited sequencing of arrivals and departures along STARs (standard terminal arrival routes) and SIDs (standard instrument departures) for the Boston Metropolitan Area, the New York Metropolitan Area, and other areas in the Northeast region of the United States.
Boston Center is the 14th busiest air traffic control center in the United States. In 2010, Boston Center was responsible for handling 1,721,000 flights. [1] The Boston ARTCC currently covers 165,000 square miles (430,000 km2) of airspace that includes airports in Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, New York state and northeast Pennsylvania. [2]
ZBW has a total of 30 sectors, including 16 Low Altitude sectors, 10 High Altitude sectors, and 1 Super High Altitude sector. There are also three Low-High Altitude sectors which usually cover from the surface to unlimited and do not fit into any of the other sector categories. Within the center, there are five areas, which other ARTCCs often refer to as "Specialties".
In ZBW, the areas are labeled A through E.
Area A covers the majority of northeastern New York state. Area A handles a large quantity of traffic that has departed Boston Logan International Airport or other nearby airports, as well as descending arrivals destined to New York metropolitan airports and other airports in ZBW airspace.
Area B covers most of Vermont and New Hampshire. Area B is primarily responsible for descending Boston Logan and Manchester–Boston Regional Airport arrivals, as well as climbing departures from these airports. Area B also descends and climbs traffic to and from airports such as Albany International, Burlington International, and Bradley International.
Area C covers portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Area C also covers about 60 miles (97 km) of over-ocean airspace south of Long Island. Area C is responsible for descending Boston Logan arrivals, climbing Boston Logan departures, and working arrival and departure traffic to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport. Area C also climbs all northeast-bound and oceanic departures from the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, Area C descends and climbs traffic to and from airports such as T. F. Green, Long Island MacArthur, and Bradley International.
Area D is the largest area in ZBW, covering almost half of the total airspace. Area D overlies the eastern portions of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and most of Maine, as well as owning airspace extending around 150 miles (240 km) east of the coast. Area D is responsible for descending and climbing traffic to and from Boston Logan, Bangor International Airport, Portland International Jetport, and all Cape Cod area airports. Area D also includes some Canadian airspace, mostly over New Brunswick, but also a small area of Quebec. The bulk of this is an artifact dating back to the Cold War when Loring Air Force Base, a SAC bomber base lying very close to the international border, was active. Loring's circular terminal control area, that no longer exists, extended into New Brunswick. This area was included with the rest of the TCA in Boston's area of responsibility. The base closed in 1994, but the Canadian airspace has not been transferred back to Canadian control.
Area E covers portions of New York state and western Massachusetts. Area E is primarily responsible for working traffic landing and departing New York metropolitan airports such as John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, and LaGuardia. The New York TRACON underlies most of Area E.
ZBW is bordered by the following ARTCCs/ACCs/FIRs:
Boston ARTCC Operating Sector Boundaries and Frequencies [3]
It is the job of the TMU to balance air traffic demand with system capacity to ensure maximum efficiency and utilization of the airspace. As a result, this creates a safe and orderly flow of traffic while minimizing delays. The TMU reports to the ATCSCC (Air Traffic Control System command center).
Some of the methods that can be used to help minimize delays are the following:
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