ATC Zero

Article summary

ATC Zero (Air Traffic Control Zero) is an official term used by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that means the FAA is unable to safely provide the published air traffic control (ATC) services within the airspace managed by a specific facility. The term is always used in conjunction with a facility reference. FAA ATC facilities include Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC); Terminal Radar Control facility (TRACON), Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT), Flight Service Stations (FSS), or the Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC). The term is defined in FAA Order JO 1900.47, Air Traffic Control Operational Contingency Plans. It is one of three designations used by the FAA (ATC Alert, ATC Limited, and ATC Zero) to describe degraded operations and invoke operational contingency plans. ATC Zero is declared in response to an event when it is determined the controlling facility, or significant portion thereof, is unable to safely provide the published air traffic services, or provide traffic flow management in the case of the ATCSCC. ATC services generally refer to specific communication, navigation, or surveillance capabilities. Any or all of the published services could be impacted by a natural or deliberate act that results in short or long term ATC service degradation.…

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