Mandatory frequency airport
Encyclopedia
An airport
with a mandatory frequency (MF), mandatory traffic advisory frequency (MTAF) or air/ground radio (A/G) is an airport which does not have a control tower
but still requires arriving and departing aircraft to communicate with other aircraft or a radio operator on a published frequency.
Mandatory frequency airports are rare in the United States
, one example being Ketchikan International Airport
, but they are common in other countries such as Canada
, Australia
, the United Kingdom
and Norway
; often, an MF or MTAF airport is one with scheduled passenger service but insufficient traffic to support a control tower
. If there is a flight service specialist monitoring the frequency, the specialist will give pilots advisories about traffic, weather, and surface conditions, and may relay IFR
clearances from en route controllers
, but cannot give clearances him- or herself.
In the United Kingdom
, this type of airport is said to have an Air/Ground Radio service, using the callsign suffix "Radio". This is provided at airports that have a moderate level of VFR-only GA traffic.
Some examples of MF airports in Canada include Kingston/Norman Rogers Airport
and Kuujjuaq Airport
.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
with a mandatory frequency (MF), mandatory traffic advisory frequency (MTAF) or air/ground radio (A/G) is an airport which does not have a control tower
Non-towered airport
A non-towered airport, sometimes referred to as an uncontrolled airport, is an airport with no operating tower, or air traffic control unit...
but still requires arriving and departing aircraft to communicate with other aircraft or a radio operator on a published frequency.
Mandatory frequency airports are rare in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, one example being Ketchikan International Airport
Ketchikan International Airport
Ketchikan International Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Ketchikan, a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska....
, but they are common in other countries such as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
; often, an MF or MTAF airport is one with scheduled passenger service but insufficient traffic to support a control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
. If there is a flight service specialist monitoring the frequency, the specialist will give pilots advisories about traffic, weather, and surface conditions, and may relay IFR
Instrument flight rules
Instrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
clearances from en route controllers
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...
, but cannot give clearances him- or herself.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, this type of airport is said to have an Air/Ground Radio service, using the callsign suffix "Radio". This is provided at airports that have a moderate level of VFR-only GA traffic.
Some examples of MF airports in Canada include Kingston/Norman Rogers Airport
Kingston/Norman Rogers Airport
Kingston Airport or Kingston/Norman Rogers Airport, , is an airport located west of the core of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.The airport is named after former MP Norman McLeod Rogers , Minister of Labour and then National Defence in Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's cabinet...
and Kuujjuaq Airport
Kuujjuaq Airport
Kuujjuaq Airport, , is located southwest of Kuujjuaq, Quebec, Canada.-Airlines and destinations:-History:During World War II, the United States established a weather/radio station at this site, code-named "Crystal I"...
.