Class,

The ATC entities for this post are Gander Oceanic, Shanwick Oceanic (North Atlantic) ATC, compared to Anchorage Oceanic, Tokyo Oceanic (Pacific) ATC. These two are operations and procedures that happen in the two oceans connecting to the untied states.

North Atlantic (NAT) operations are the busiest ocean airspace globally, with 460,000 average yearly flights (North Atlantic Operations, n.d.). Direct ATC communication and surveillance are not available in the NAT, so extreme safety measures are taken (North Atlantic Operations, n.d.). While over the NAT aircraft are not allowed to change route or altitude while on a flight path; aircraft must be at the designated altitude and approved on the entirety of their flight before entering the NAT region (North Atlantic Operations, n.d.). Flights will have a 1000 foot vertical separation, longitudinal separation of 10 minutes, and 1/2 degree of lateral separation (North Atlantic Operations, n.d.). In the band of airspace, FL290-FL410 crew of aircraft must have reduced vertical separation minima training due to the intense air traffic in that region (North Atlantic Operations, n.d.)

 (Blackmore,Molloy, Heggarty, 2014)

During a Pacific flight, communication with ATC is also lost while flying over the ocean (IVAO, 2019). Aircraft in this air space can change altitude but only 1000 feet and with RVSM approval (IVAO, 2019). The Pacific flight path has a peak eastbound traffic from 0800Z and 2000Z and westbound traffic from 2200Z and 0800Z; this is due to passenger demand, time zones, and airport noise restrictions (IVAO, 2019). The Pacific traffic flow is a minimum separation of 50 NM and 1000 vertical feet to ensure safety (IVAO, 2019). These flow paths are on a series of routes, five to be strictly implemented from the Composite Route System, which provides a safe and efficient flow of traffic (IVAO, 2019). In this airspace, the strictest FL is 310 to 410; this is the most active airspace (IVAO, 2019).

 (America, 2019)

Resources:

Blackmore, C., Molloy, J., Heggarty, H., & Carr, J. (2014, August 11). North Atlantic Skies – The gateway to Europe. NATS Blog. https://nats.aero/blog/2014/06/north-atlantic-skies-gateway-europe/.

North Atlantic Operations - ATC Clearance.https://www.skybrary.aero/. (n.d.). https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/North_Atlantic_Operations_-_Airspace

 America. skybrary. (2019, April 19). https://xa.ivao.aero/web/usa_procedures?artcc=zoa&page=Oceanic.

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