In
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
, a control area (CTA) is "a
controlled airspace
Controlled airspace is airspace of defined dimensions within which air traffic control (ATC) services are provided. The level of control varies with different airspace class, classes of airspace. Controlled airspace usually imposes higher weat ...
extending upwards from a specified limit above the earth", not less than 200m (700 feet), although the limit does not need to be established uniformly within a control area.
ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
recommends for the lower level to coincide with a
VFR cruising level if the lower level limit of a control area is above 900 m (3000 feet)
MSL (mean sea level), and the VFR cruising level to not have to be lowered to less than 200 m (700 feet) due to atmospheric conditions.
[ The upper limit should be established when either air traffic control service will not be proveded above that level, or there is another (upper) control area above this control area.][
Control areas are established in any areas when the density of air traffic is high:]airway
The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of conducting air to the alveoli for the purposes of gas exchange in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory ...
is a case of a "control area or portion of thereof established in the form of a corridor".[
A control area usually is situated on top of a control zone (CTR) and provides protection to aircraft climbing out from the airport by joining the low-level control zone to the nearest airways. In the UK, they are generally class A, D or E.
Control areas are particularly useful where there are busy airports located close together. In this case, a single CTA will sit over all of the individual airports' CTRs. In larger-scale cases, this is known as a terminal manoeuvring area ( TMA, or TCA).
]
See also
*Index of aviation articles
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Articles related to aviation include:
A
Aviation accidents and incidents
– Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL)
– ADF
– Acces ...
*Airway (aviation)
In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways:
"VOR Federal airways and Low/Medium Frequency (L/MF) (Colored) Federal airways"
These are designated routes which aeroplanes f ...
*Flight information region
In aviation, a flight information region (FIR) is a specified region of airspace in which a flight information service, an alerting service (ALRS), and an area control centre are provided. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) dele ...
* TMA, Terminal control area
References
Air traffic control
{{Commercial air travel