London Area Control Centre
Encyclopedia
The London Area Control Centre (LACC) is an air traffic control
centre based at Swanwick
near Fareham
in Hampshire
, southern England
. It is operated by National Air Traffic Services
(NATS), starting operations on 27 January 2002, and handles aircraft over England
and Wales
. Internally within NATS it is usually known by the initials AC.
LACC shares the Swanwick site with the London Terminal Control Centre
(LTCC), which moved there in 2007.
AC-based controllers provide air traffic services mainly within the London
Flight Information Region
(FIR). This airspace is split into five Local Area Groups (LAGs) which relate to the position of the airspace sector groups within the FIR. All sectors have the R/T callsign "London Control".
Also within the AC Operations room sit the FIR Flight Information Service Officers (FISOs) who provide an information service to aircraft operating within the London FIR as a whole using the callsign "London Information". Swanwick Military controllers are also based in the AC Operations room.
Each sector is assigned a sector number which is used when co-ordinating the passage of aircraft between each other. Colloquial names are also in use for each group of sectors and are sometimes used within the co-ordination process when sectors are bandboxed together to indicate that one sector team is operating a whole group of sectors.
LACC is unusual in that it uses Class A airspace at lower levels. Therefore VFR operation is prohibited.
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
centre based at Swanwick
Swanwick, Hampshire
Swanwick is a village in Hampshire, England, east of the River Hamble and north of the M27 motorway.The village is located within the borough of Fareham and is the site of the London Area Control Centre and the London Terminal Control Centre part of National Air Traffic Services Air Traffic...
near Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, southern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is operated by National Air Traffic Services
National Air Traffic Services
NATS Ltd. is the main air navigation service provider in the United Kingdom. It provides en-route air traffic control services to flights within the UK Flight Information Regions and the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area, and provides air traffic control services to fifteen UK airports and Gibraltar...
(NATS), starting operations on 27 January 2002, and handles aircraft over England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Internally within NATS it is usually known by the initials AC.
LACC shares the Swanwick site with the London Terminal Control Centre
London Terminal Control Centre
The London Terminal Control Centre was an air traffic control centre based in West Drayton, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, approximately 2.5 miles north of London Heathrow airport...
(LTCC), which moved there in 2007.
AC-based controllers provide air traffic services mainly within the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Flight Information Region
Flight Information Region
In aviation a flight information region is a region of airspace with specific dimensions, in which a flight information service and an alerting service are provided. It is the largest regular division of airspace in use in the world today....
(FIR). This airspace is split into five Local Area Groups (LAGs) which relate to the position of the airspace sector groups within the FIR. All sectors have the R/T callsign "London Control".
Also within the AC Operations room sit the FIR Flight Information Service Officers (FISOs) who provide an information service to aircraft operating within the London FIR as a whole using the callsign "London Information". Swanwick Military controllers are also based in the AC Operations room.
AC Local Area Groups and Sectors
This section is incompleteEach sector is assigned a sector number which is used when co-ordinating the passage of aircraft between each other. Colloquial names are also in use for each group of sectors and are sometimes used within the co-ordination process when sectors are bandboxed together to indicate that one sector team is operating a whole group of sectors.
LACC is unusual in that it uses Class A airspace at lower levels. Therefore VFR operation is prohibited.
Central LAG
These sectors comprise the airspace above the London TMA airspace controlled from the TC operations room.- London Upper (LUS) - Sectors 1, 2 & 24
- London Middle (LMS) - Sectors 25 & 26
East LAG
These sectors comprise the airspace above TC East sectors to the East and North East of London.- North Sea - Sectors 10 & 11
- Clacton - Sectors 12, 13 & 14
West LAG
This LAG is responsible for the largest amount of airspace within AC, extending from the West of Bournemouth down across the Western approaches and up into the south of Wales.- Berry Head - Sectors 6, 9 & 36
- Brecon - Sectors 5, 8, 23 & 35
North LAG
These sectors adjoin the airspace controlled by the Prestwick Centre to the North, airspace overlying some of the airspace around Manchester formally controlled by the Manchester Centre (now also at Prestwick) and airspace over the North of Wales across to Ireland.- Lakes - Sectors 3, 4 & 7
- Daventry - Sectors 27, 28, 32 & 34
South LAG
This LAG comprises the sectors along the South Coast of England, bordering France and Maastricht airspace.- Dover - Sectors 15, 16 & 17
- Worthing - Sectors 18, 19, 20, 21 & 22
External links
- En-Route Services information from NATS