A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/1110049
matter how many years you've played, you have to keep putting in the time to perfect and replicate your swing if you're really going to be any good at it. When the stakes are higher, the need to prepare and practice is even more pronounced, no matter how many times you've done it before. Consider the special events that the ATO manages, including traffic in and out of the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-in and Expo in Florida last week, the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament in Minnesota a few days ago, and The Masters golf tournament in Georgia this weekend. We've handled these surges in traffic for as many years as the events have been held, but every year, we devote the necessary time and resources to developing our plan, practicing it, communicating it and getting it just right. For Sun 'n Fun, we conduct robust training and ensure our teams are current on procedures and letters of agreement, as well as issue notices to airmen and system impact reports. We set up a temporary tower, and make sure our teams are in place to handle much more general aviation traffic. With an event like the Final Four, which isn't in the same place every year, we have more robust training and procedures development. We work with previous host facilities and meeting with local airport authorities to design a slot program with satellite airports. We also bolster staffing at all facilities to accommodate the increase in volume for both arrivals and departures. This year, we saw a 100 percent increase in general aviation traffic for the Saturday games alone, and our team did a great job of issuing airborne reroutes when needed. For The Masters, we have a suite of special routes to ease traffic in and out of the Augusta area, and we release a special air traffic bulletin to let pilots know about changes in procedures, airspace and operational hours. For example, Daniel Field in Augusta opens a temporary tower to handle five times the usual traffic. Area airports also close some runways to accommodate more aircraft parking because the event draws so many business and general aviation aircraft. We track air traffic patterns and stay current on security concerns. Our Technical Operations team institutes maintenance moratoria for these events to reduce the risks associated with performing routine maintenance tasks during these periods of heightened traffic. We also use these events as educational opportunities because so many airspace users are gathered in one spot. For example at Sun 'n Fun, our ATO Safety and Technical Training team hosted a booth that focused on runway safety in an effort to curb wrong surface landings and departures, and our Program Management Organization folks were on site to help pilots prepare for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast equipage mandate implementation, which is about nine months away.