Air traffic control

Air traffic control is to prevent aircraft from colliding, to prevent aircraft from colliding with ground obstacles, to maintain air traffic order, and to ensure a fast and efficient air traffic flow. The people who perform this task are air traffic control As the saying goes, the controller (ATC, AirTrafficController) is the "air traffic police".

What parts does air traffic control include?

Air traffic control includes area control and approach control. , tower control and air traffic reporting services. Area control also includes high-altitude area control and mid- and low-altitude area control. In some areas, these two functions are undertaken by the same department. In areas with low air traffic, approach control and tower control are combined into one.

The current situation of air traffic control in China.

(1) Air traffic control system. As far as the country is concerned, a system of "unified control and separate command" is implemented. That is, under the leadership of the State Council and the Air Traffic Control Commission of the Central Military Commission, the Air Force is responsible for implementing flight control nationwide. Military aircraft are commanded by the Air Force and Naval Aviation, and civil flights and foreign aviation flights are commanded by Civil Aviation. Due to certain limitations of this system, reform is currently underway. As far as civil aviation is concerned, the air traffic control system implements a "hierarchical management" system, that is, air traffic control departments at all levels are affiliated to the Civil Aviation Administration, regional administrations, provincial (municipal, district) bureaus, and terminals. The Air Traffic Management Bureau of the General Administration exercises business leadership over the civil aviation traffic system, and other tasks including personnel, finance, administrative management and infrastructure are responsible for regional administrations, provincial (municipal, district) bureaus and terminals.

(2) Airspace management. There are 9 flight information regions across the country, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Lanzhou, Shenyang, Kunming, Urumqi and Taipei flight information regions. There are 28 high-altitude control zones designated over the mainland, including 4 in Northeast China, 3 in North China, 6 in East China, 8 in Central and South China, 4 in Southwest China, 2 in Northwest China, and 1 in Xinjiang; medium and low-altitude control zones 37; the vast majority of civilian airports (including military-civilian joint airports) have set up tower control areas.

(3) Air traffic control facilities. After continuous construction, a relatively complete communication, navigation, intelligence, and meteorological support system has been basically formed. In terms of communication support, most civil airports across the country are equipped with satellite voice ground stations and satellite data ground stations. Each control unit is equipped with more than two sets of VHF air communication stations. Some areas with weak air communication are equipped with even VHF air communication stations. The high-frequency relay station has achieved VHF air communication coverage of more than 7,000 meters in eastern my country. In terms of navigation support, the vast majority of civil airports are equipped with instrument landing systems, omnidirectional beacons and range finders. Most high-altitude, medium- and low-altitude control areas are equipped with secondary or primary or secondary radars, which basically reach 7,000 in eastern my country. Meters and above radar coverage. In terms of aeronautical information support, an automated aeronautical information system is being built, and the technology for producing aviation notices and aeronautical information has been significantly improved. In terms of meteorological support, all airports are equipped with meteorological observation and forecasting equipment, and some airports are equipped with weather radar, automatic observation systems, and meteorological satellite cloud image receiving equipment, which provide the required meteorological data for flights in a timely manner.

(4) Personnel quality. The civil air traffic control system currently has about 12,000 control, aeronautical information, communications, navigation, meteorological and other personnel, including about 3,000 control personnel. Some personnel have received higher education, while the rest have received secondary professional education. In particular, controller training has always been taken seriously at all levels. There are colleges and universities that specialize in training controllers, relatively complete controller training programs, good modern teaching facilities, and strict controller assessment systems. The training of controllers is planned to be carried out in three steps, namely development training, qualification training and improvement training. The development training is mainly provided by the Civil Aviation College of China, the Civil Aviation Flight College and the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, with about 200 people graduating every year. Qualification training and improvement training are organized by air traffic control departments at all levels and are conducted through apprenticeships, license assessments, overseas training, and special seminars. A control trainee usually takes 1-2 years of training before he can formally assume the duty of a control position.

(5) Control methods.

At present, although most control areas are equipped with secondary or primary or secondary radars, the control methods have not undergone fundamental changes. Except for the Beijing terminal area and the Shenzhen approach control area, most units still implement radar control. Use procedure control, or procedure control to reduce separation under radar surveillance conditions.

The prospect of China’s air traffic control.

1) Great efforts should be made to straighten out the air traffic control system. my country's current air traffic control system was formed in the 1950s and 1960s when the civil aviation industry was underdeveloped. Today, with the sharp increase in civil aircraft and the rapid increase in flight volume, the air traffic control system that still continues in the past is obviously no longer suitable. In 1993, the State Council and the Central Military Commission determined the development direction of my country's air traffic control system and proposed a three-step implementation goal for the reform of the air traffic control system. The first step was to hand over the Beijing-Guangzhou-Shenzhen air route to civil aviation control and command as a pilot project. This step was implemented on April 1, 1994. The second step is to hand over the country's air routes to civil aviation control and command, forming an air traffic control system in which civil aviation and military aviation provide control services inside and outside the air routes respectively under the unified leadership of the National Air Traffic Control Commission, realizing "one control and command within one airspace." On June 30, 1996, the Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Guangzhou air routes were handed over to civil aviation control, which marked the official launch of the second step of the air traffic control system reform. The third step is that in the long run, my country's air traffic control system should follow the practices of advanced countries in the world and adopt a unified national control model. Such reform ideas and practices are undoubtedly correct. The problem now is to intensify reform efforts and achieve the second and third step reform goals as soon as possible. As far as civil aviation is concerned, the air traffic control system has not been straightened out. The current hierarchical management method is not conducive to the formation of centralized and unified control and command, and is not conducive to the construction of supporting air traffic control facilities. We should refer to common international practices and study the establishment of an air traffic control system with unified management and centralized command.

(2) Actively promote the reform of airspace management. At present, my country's airspace management methods are relatively backward and need to be improved. As an important resource of the country, airspace should be used safely, orderly and efficiently. First, the military and civilian aviation control areas should be as consistent as possible. In most countries in the world, the military and civil aviation control areas are completely consistent. However, in the division of control areas in my country, civil aviation is linked to administrative areas, and military aviation is linked to the organizational scope of the army. This artificially creates conflicts in the inconsistent division of control areas. The overall consideration of national airspace resources should be taken into consideration, and control areas should be divided scientifically and uniformly to achieve the same consistency as possible between military and civilian aviation control areas. This is an effective way to improve airspace utilization and facilitate mutual coordination between military and civilian aviation. The second is to further reform the flight level. Under the leadership of the National Air Traffic Control Commission, the flight level configuration method of my country's air routes has completed the first step of reform, that is, the flight level configuration method for flight altitudes below 6,000 meters (inclusive) is consistent with international standards; 6,000 meters (inclusive) and below The flight level between (inclusive) and 12,000 meters (inclusive) is reduced from 1,000 meters to 600 meters. In the next step of reform, in accordance with international standards, the flight level below 9,000 meters (inclusive) will be 300 meters; the flight level between 9,000 meters (inclusive) and 12,000 meters (inclusive) will be 600 meters. This can further increase the air traffic on the air route (route). The third is to rationally transform the air route (route) structure. The air route (route) structure in our country was gradually developed with the needs of civil air transportation. Its direction is restricted by the training airspace of military airports, there are many turns, and flights are not economical enough. In recent years, the arrival and departure routes in busy areas such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai have been adjusted and optimized, and good safety and economic benefits have been achieved. When planning and modifying air routes (airlines), we must focus on the country's economic benefits and implement overall planning to shorten the distance between cities as much as possible. In addition, airspace management must be flexible. When there is no activity in the training airspace of military airports, civilian aircraft should be allowed to use it to improve airspace utilization.

(3) Continuously improve air traffic control infrastructure. First of all, we must strengthen the construction of air route control centers, focusing on the construction of the three major control centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Earnestly learn from the experience and lessons of advanced countries in building large-scale control centers, resolutely abandon the erroneous practice of doing things in their own way, and adopt a unified system structure, unified technical standards, unified equipment models, and unified construction models to lay the foundation for future system-wide networking. Base. The second is to continue to build radar coverage and networking. On the basis of the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" construction, some secondary radars will be added to the main routes east of the Harbin-Shenyang-Xi'an-Chengdu-Kunming line to make up for blind spots. This is important. Achieve multiple coverage in regions and key airports. At the same time, the control center is used as a unit to network related radars, thereby creating conditions for system-wide radar information networking and radar control. The third is to strengthen the construction of communication networks, improve existing long-distance dedicated lines, build optical cables and other ground communication lines, open a dedicated C-band satellite communication network, expand the capacity of existing satellite ground stations, and build a new KU-band satellite network, so as to transfer civil aviation control and Information transfer is based on rapid and reliable communication. The fourth is to start building a flight flow management system and establish a main control center and several sub-control centers. The main control center is located in the Air Traffic Control Bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and the sub-control centers are located in each route control center. It is used to implement effective preliminary management of civil aviation flights across the country, timely relieve air traffic congestion on some routes and during certain periods of time, so that air flights are always in an orderly and appropriate state.

(4) Develop new navigation systems in a planned manner. The development of a new navigation system for the air traffic control system is a major change. The new navigation system plan has been approved by the 10th ICAO Air Navigation Conference. The United States, Australia, Russia and other countries have been studying and preparing for the new navigation system for a long time. The United States and Russia launched the GPS and GLONASS global satellite systems respectively, making it possible for the development and promotion of new navigation systems. The development of the new navigation system in my country's air traffic control system is planned to be carried out in three steps. First, before 2000, the test of the new navigation system will be mainly carried out, and new navigation system routes will be built in the western region of my country to provide experimental services to accumulate experience; secondly, in Before 2010, the standards and operating regulations for the new navigation system will be formulated and improved, the transformation of existing aircraft will be completed, and various subsystems of the new navigation system will be gradually constructed to co-exist with the current system and serve as auxiliary facilities for the current system. Thirdly, after 2010, we will comprehensively develop and promote the new navigation system, fundamentally transform the current system, and gradually integrate it with international standards. Create conditions for shortcut flights and free flights that aviation departments and enterprises long for.