The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a governmental body of the United States with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation in that nation as well as over its surrounding international waters. Its powers include the construction and operation of airports, air traffic management, the certification of personnel and aircraft, and the protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots. In some countries, ATC plays a security or defensive role, or is operated by the military.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States and a Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.
Washington Dulles International Airport is an international airport in the eastern United States, located in Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Virginia, 26 miles (42 km) west of downtown Washington, D.C.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, popularly called Reagan National Airport or, more simply, Reagan National, is the smaller of two commercial airports operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority that serve the National Capital Region (NCR) around Washington, D.C., the larger airport being Washington Dulles International Airport approximately 30 miles (48 km) to the west in Virginia's Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Located on the west bank of the Potomac River just to the south of the 14th Street/I-395 Bridge in Arlington, Virginia, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is the nearest and most convenient commercial airport to the capital. Additionally, both the Blue Line and the Yellow Line of the "Metro" transit system operated by the Metropolitan Washington Area Transit Authority (MWATA) serve the airport via the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Station situated between the passenger terminal and a parking garage and connected to both via "skybridge" pedestrian walkways with moving sidewalks.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is the primary international airport serving Baltimore, Maryland, and one of three major airports serving the Baltimore–Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Located in an unincorporated area of Anne Arundel County, the airport is nine miles (14 km) south of downtown Baltimore and 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Washington D.C. It is the busiest airport in Maryland, and the busiest airport in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall. The airport is named after Thurgood Marshall, a Baltimore native who was the first African American to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. This airport also has a heavy population base from the Harrisburg and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.
Shenandoah (SHD) covers Dulles and the west area of PCT
Mount Vernon (MTV) covers the Washington National Airport, Joint Base Andrews, and surrounding region
Chesapeake (CHP) covers BWI and the northern area of PCT
James River (JRV) covers Richmond and the southern area of PCT
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington (AFDW). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base and Naval Air Facility Washington were merged to form Joint Base Andrews.
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Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Sandston, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community. The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond International Airport is the busiest airport in central Virginia and the third-busiest in the state behind Washington D.C.'s two major airports, Washington Dulles and Washington National. RIC covers 2,500 acres of land.
An Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) has existed since February 10, 2003, around the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area to restrict air traffic near Washington, D.C.
An airport surveillance radar (ASR) is a radar system used at airports to detect and display the presence and position of aircraft in the terminal area, the airspace around airports. It is the main air traffic control system for the airspace around airports. At large airports it typically controls traffic within a radius of 60 miles (96 km) of the airport below an elevation of 25,000 feet. The sophisticated systems at large airports consist of two different radar systems, the primary and secondary surveillance radar. The primary radar typically consists of a large rotating parabolic antenna dish that sweeps a vertical fan-shaped beam of microwaves around the airspace surrounding the airport. It detects the position and range of aircraft by microwaves reflected back to the antenna from the aircraft's surface. In the US the primary radar operates at a frequency of 2.7 - 2.9 GHz in the S band with a peak radiated power of 25 kW and an average power of 2.1 kW. The secondary surveillance radar consists of a second rotating antenna, often mounted on the primary antenna, which interrogates the transponders of aircraft, which transmits a radio signal back containing the aircraft's identification, barometric altitude, and an emergency status code, which is displayed on the radar screen next to the return from the primary radar. It operates at a frequency of 1.03 - 1.09 GHz in the L band with peak power of 160 - 1500 W.
Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZBW), is located in Nashua, New Hampshire, United States. The Boston ARTCC is one of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States.
The New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) is located in Westbury, New York, on Long Island. New York TRACON, also known as N90, is a consolidated TRACON, meaning that a single location provides approach service for several large airports. The primary responsibility of the New York TRACON is the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of arrival, departure, and en-route traffic. N90 is responsible for three major airports, all located within the same New York Class B airspace: John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport. Additionally, N90 is responsible for dozens of smaller but busy fields, including Long Island MacArthur Airport, Teterboro Airport, Tweed New Haven Regional Airport, and Republic Airport. N90 also controls the large number of VFR aircraft that fly through the New York Class B airspace every day.
The Philadelphia TRACON/ATCT is located at the Philadelphia International Airport and is a TRACON with Up-and-Down capabilities which means it includes both a TRACON and ATCT in the same facility. The facility is "sectorized" into two sectors for the controllers. "A-side" controllers work the tower, and half the radar room. "B-side" controllers work the entire radar room, but not the tower.
The National Airspace System (NAS) is the airspace, navigation facilities and airports of the United States along with their associated information, services, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, personnel and equipment. It includes components shared jointly with the military. It is one of the most complex aviation systems in the world and services air travel in the United States and over large portions of the world's oceans.
The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) is America's air navigation service provider, as the operations arm of the Federal Aviation Administration. Its customers are commercial and private aviation and the military, and it employs more than 35,000 controllers, technicians, engineers and support workers.
Northern California TRACON (NCT), or NorCal TRACON for short, is an air traffic control facility that provides safety alerts, separation, and sequencing of air traffic arriving, departing, and transiting the airspace and airports in Northern California, United States. Located in Rancho Cordova near Sacramento, NCT controls airspace over 19,000 square miles (49,000 km2), and serves Reno International Airport, Sacramento International Airport, San Jose International Airport, Oakland International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport, plus 19 other smaller airports with air traffic control towers. NCT is the 3rd busiest TRACON in the US. NorCal TRACON is the step between local control and an Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), in this case, Oakland Center. San Francisco International Airport is the 2nd largest airport in California and the largest airport serving Northern California.
The Yankee Terminal Radar Approach Control is a terminal air traffic control center located in Windsor Locks, Connecticut operated by the United States Federal Aviation Administration.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Fire & Rescue Department is a special service fire department responsible for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport in the Washington metropolitan area. The department was formed from the Federal Aviation Administration's Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Branch when the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority was established in June 1987. Prior to that time, both airports were owned and operated by the FAA.
The Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control is located in San Diego, California. SCT is a part of the Air Traffic Organization of the US Federal Aviation Administration. SCT sequences and separates air traffic in the Southern California region. It is the busiest air traffic control facility in the world.
The 2014 Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center fire was an incident in the United States where arson at an air traffic control facility in Aurora, Illinois caused close to 2000 airline flights to be grounded. One employee at the facility was treated for smoke inhalation, while 15 to 30 employees were evacuated.
The Northern Virginia region is served by numerous mediums of transit. Transportation in the region is overseen by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Karachi Area Control Centre is one of two Area Control Centers in Pakistan operated by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and is based in Terminal 1 at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. Karachi ACC air traffic controllers provide en route and terminal control services to aircraft in the Karachi Flight Information Region. The Karachi FIR airspace covers Pakistani airspace between the 30° North to 23° North. To the north is the Lahore FIR. To the east is the Delhi FIR. To the south is the Muscat FIR and to the west are the Tehran FIR and Kabul FIRs.
Lahore Area Control Centre is one of two Area Control Centers in Pakistan operated by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and based at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. Lahore ACC air traffic controllers provide en route and terminal control services to aircraft in the Lahore Flight Information Region (FIR). The Lahore FIR airspace covers Pakistani airspace between the 30° North to 37° North. To the south is the Karachi FIR. To the north is the Urumqi FIR. To the east is the Delhi FIR. To the west is the Kabul FIR.
The Cape TRACON (K90) is located Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts next to the airfield for Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. This radar approach facility is operated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
