New York Air Route Traffic Control Center
Encyclopedia
New York Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZNY) is one of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) in the United States.
in Ronkonkoma
, a hamlet (unincorporated community) in the Town of Islip
, New York
, United States
, near New York City
. Long Island MacArthur Airport
is north of the ARTCC.
Their primary responsibility is the separation of overflights, and the expedited sequencing of arrivals and departures along Standard Terminal Arrival Route
s and Standard Instrument Departure
s for the entire New York Metropolitan Area
and Philadelphia.
ZNY assumes control over several Class Bravo (Class B
) airports, including
Altogether, New York Center "owns" 3270000 square miles (8,469,261.1 km²) of airspace. Of that, 17000 square miles (44,029.8 km²) are mainland airspace, and the remaining 3250000 square miles (8,417,461.4 km²) are oceanic airspace.
and top out as high as Flight Level
600 (60,000 ft) ASL. ZNY handles a total of 28 sectors, excluding Oceanic sectors. These are broken down into Low Altitude and High Altitude sectors, with 16 Low Altitude sectors and 12 High altitude sectors. Within the Center there are 6 Areas, which other ARTCC's might call specialties.
Area A covers the southeast edge of Pennsylvania. This area alone works as many operations in a year as all of Seattle Center. Area A put arrivals in trail for Philadelphia TRACON via the BUNTS feed (its busiest) heading to Philadelphia Int'l (PHL), Wilmington DE Airport (ILG) and other Eastern PA and Northern NJ airports. The area also feeds traffic into PCT (Potomac Consolidated TRACON) which runs arrivals and departures for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
(DCA), Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
(BWI), Washington Dulles International Airport
(IAD), and other area airports. Area A also feeds Harrisburg Approach, controlling Harrisburg Int'l (MDT), Lancaster Airport (LNS), Allentown Airport (ABE) and other PA airports. Area A's high altitude sectors work departures from all the above airports, and feed them in to existing streams received from Area B departing NY & BOS metro areas as well as those coming from over the ocean and from Canada. This traffic is handed off in trail on en route airways to Washington Center (ZDC) to the South and Cleveland Center (ZOB) to the West.
Area B covers the East side of Pennsylvania, the northern half of New Jersey, and Long Island west of Deer Park (DPK). Area B controls departures heading west, south, and southwest out of N90 (New York TRACON
). Area B sequences most of those departures into streams for the STARs to BWI, IAD, and DCA. Area B also sequences all Boston Logan
(BOS) arrivals travelling over JFK Airport
(JFK) and Hartford's Bradley International Airport
(BDL).
Area C covers the northern edge of Pennsylvania, and controls both eastbound arrivals into JFK on the LENDY5 STAR and some westbound departures out of N90.
Area D is in the middle of Pennsylvania and borders the Cleveland ARTCC's (ZOB) east border. Area D handles the PHL SPUDS1/SLATT1 STAR along with PHL departures departing via the PTW (Pottstown VOR, or VHF omnidirectional range
) exit westbound. Area D's High Altitude sectors handle all westbound N90 departures, and the MIP3 (Milton 3) STAR into LGA and FQM1 (Williamsport 1) STAR into EWR.
Area E is the first set of Oceanic sectors that mainly have control over the Atlantic just offshore from New York and New Jersey. Area E maintains 2 radar sectors that are both 'offshore'. The first is Sector 66. This sectors owns airspace to the southeast of Kennedy (South of Long Island). There are no VORs or airports within this sector. However, this is one of the busiest sectors within the facility. Mainly due to numerous aircraft that are 'head-on' and are required to descend/ascend through each others altitudes. Because of this, there is a lot of vectoring and speed control involved. Warning area 107, when active, takes a big chunk of the sectors airspace thus adding to its complexity. The second 'offshore' radar sector in Area E is Sector 82. Aircraft are off-loaded to this sector when there is weather along the east coast of the US. The rest of the sectors in Area E are all non-radar (ATOPS) sectors that control traffic going to/from the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda.
Area F is the other set of Oceanic sectors, and maintains control of the North and South Atlantic. Area F assumes responsibility for two "mainland" high altitude oceanic sectors just off the coast of New York. Area F also controls the area of the North Atlantic including Bermuda. (Bermuda International Airport
only controls flights on approach, departure and while on the ground.) The rest of the sectors in Area F are all non-radar (ATOPS) sectors. They control flights that are crossing to/from Europe in the North and South Atlantic.
Areas E and F are bordered by:
Area of responsibility
It is located at 4205 Johnson Avenue on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
in Ronkonkoma
Ronkonkoma, New York
Ronkonkoma is a census-designated place on Long Island in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 20,029 at the 2000 census...
, a hamlet (unincorporated community) in the Town of Islip
Islip (town), New York
The Town of Islip is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York . Located on the south shore of Long Island, the town population was 322,612 at the 2000 census. The smaller, unincorporated hamlet of Islip lies within the town.-Demographics:...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, near New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Long Island MacArthur Airport
Long Island MacArthur Airport
Long Island MacArthur Airport, formerly known as Islip Airport is a public airport located on Long Island, in Ronkonkoma, Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is seven miles northeast of the central business district of Islip hamlet...
is north of the ARTCC.
Their primary responsibility is the separation of overflights, and the expedited sequencing of arrivals and departures along Standard Terminal Arrival Route
Standard Terminal Arrival Route
In aviation, a standard terminal arrival route or standard terminal arrival is a published procedure followed by aircraft on an IFR flight plan just before reaching a destination airport.-Description:...
s and Standard Instrument Departure
Standard Instrument Departure
Standard instrument departure routes, also known as departure procedures are published flight procedures followed by aircraft on an IFR flight plan immediately after take-off from an airport.- Introduction :...
s for the entire New York Metropolitan Area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
and Philadelphia.
ZNY assumes control over several Class Bravo (Class B
Airspace class (United States)
The United States airspace system's classification scheme is to provide maximum pilot flexibility with acceptable levels of risk appropriate to the type of operation and traffic density within that class of airspace - in particular to provide separation and active control in areas of dense or...
) airports, including
- Newark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
(EWR) in Newark/Elizabeth, New Jersey - LaGuardia AirportLaGuardia AirportLaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
(LGA) in New York City, NY - John F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
(JFK) in New York City, New York - Philadelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International Airport is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in Pennsylvania...
(PHL) in Philadelphia/Tinicum TownshipTinicum Township, Delaware County, PennsylvaniaTinicum Township, more popularly known as "Tinicum Island" or "The Island", a census-designated place and township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,353 at the 2000 census. Included within the township's boundaries are the communities of Essington and Lester...
, Delaware County, PADelaware County, PennsylvaniaDelaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
Altogether, New York Center "owns" 3270000 square miles (8,469,261.1 km²) of airspace. Of that, 17000 square miles (44,029.8 km²) are mainland airspace, and the remaining 3250000 square miles (8,417,461.4 km²) are oceanic airspace.
The Basic Breakdown
The sector shelves start as low 5,500 AGLAbove ground level
In aviation and atmospheric sciences, an altitude is said to be above ground level when it is measured with respect to the underlying ground surface. This is as opposed to above mean sea level , or in broadcast engineering, height above average terrain...
and top out as high as Flight Level
Flight level
A Flight Level is a standard nominal altitude of an aircraft, in hundreds of feet. This altitude is calculated from the International standard pressure datum of 1013.25 hPa , the average sea-level pressure, and therefore is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's true altitude either...
600 (60,000 ft) ASL. ZNY handles a total of 28 sectors, excluding Oceanic sectors. These are broken down into Low Altitude and High Altitude sectors, with 16 Low Altitude sectors and 12 High altitude sectors. Within the Center there are 6 Areas, which other ARTCC's might call specialties.
Area Breakdown
In ZNY, the Areas are Lettered A through F.Area A covers the southeast edge of Pennsylvania. This area alone works as many operations in a year as all of Seattle Center. Area A put arrivals in trail for Philadelphia TRACON via the BUNTS feed (its busiest) heading to Philadelphia Int'l (PHL), Wilmington DE Airport (ILG) and other Eastern PA and Northern NJ airports. The area also feeds traffic into PCT (Potomac Consolidated TRACON) which runs arrivals and departures for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
(DCA), Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is an international airport serving the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area in the United States. It is commonly called BWI, BWI Airport or BWI Marshall, BWI being an initialism for "Baltimore/Washington International" and the...
(BWI), Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
(IAD), and other area airports. Area A also feeds Harrisburg Approach, controlling Harrisburg Int'l (MDT), Lancaster Airport (LNS), Allentown Airport (ABE) and other PA airports. Area A's high altitude sectors work departures from all the above airports, and feed them in to existing streams received from Area B departing NY & BOS metro areas as well as those coming from over the ocean and from Canada. This traffic is handed off in trail on en route airways to Washington Center (ZDC) to the South and Cleveland Center (ZOB) to the West.
Area B covers the East side of Pennsylvania, the northern half of New Jersey, and Long Island west of Deer Park (DPK). Area B controls departures heading west, south, and southwest out of N90 (New York TRACON
New York TRACON
The New York Terminal Radar Approach Control is located in Westbury, New York. New York TRACON, also known as N90, is a consolidated TRACON meaning that a single location provides approach service for several large airports....
). Area B sequences most of those departures into streams for the STARs to BWI, IAD, and DCA. Area B also sequences all Boston Logan
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
(BOS) arrivals travelling over JFK Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
(JFK) and Hartford's Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Windsor Locks on the border with East Granby and Suffield, in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the State of Connecticut....
(BDL).
Area C covers the northern edge of Pennsylvania, and controls both eastbound arrivals into JFK on the LENDY5 STAR and some westbound departures out of N90.
Area D is in the middle of Pennsylvania and borders the Cleveland ARTCC's (ZOB) east border. Area D handles the PHL SPUDS1/SLATT1 STAR along with PHL departures departing via the PTW (Pottstown VOR, or VHF omnidirectional range
VHF omnidirectional range
VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...
) exit westbound. Area D's High Altitude sectors handle all westbound N90 departures, and the MIP3 (Milton 3) STAR into LGA and FQM1 (Williamsport 1) STAR into EWR.
Area E is the first set of Oceanic sectors that mainly have control over the Atlantic just offshore from New York and New Jersey. Area E maintains 2 radar sectors that are both 'offshore'. The first is Sector 66. This sectors owns airspace to the southeast of Kennedy (South of Long Island). There are no VORs or airports within this sector. However, this is one of the busiest sectors within the facility. Mainly due to numerous aircraft that are 'head-on' and are required to descend/ascend through each others altitudes. Because of this, there is a lot of vectoring and speed control involved. Warning area 107, when active, takes a big chunk of the sectors airspace thus adding to its complexity. The second 'offshore' radar sector in Area E is Sector 82. Aircraft are off-loaded to this sector when there is weather along the east coast of the US. The rest of the sectors in Area E are all non-radar (ATOPS) sectors that control traffic going to/from the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda.
Area F is the other set of Oceanic sectors, and maintains control of the North and South Atlantic. Area F assumes responsibility for two "mainland" high altitude oceanic sectors just off the coast of New York. Area F also controls the area of the North Atlantic including Bermuda. (Bermuda International Airport
Bermuda International Airport
L.F. Wade International Airport , formerly named Bermuda International Airport, is the sole airport serving Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is located in the parish of St. George's and is northeast of Bermuda's capital city of Hamilton. In 2006, L.F. Wade...
only controls flights on approach, departure and while on the ground.) The rest of the sectors in Area F are all non-radar (ATOPS) sectors. They control flights that are crossing to/from Europe in the North and South Atlantic.
Areas E and F are bordered by:
- Miami ARTCC - KZMA/ZMA (Miami, Florida)
- Jacksonville ARTCC - KZJX/ZJX (Hilliard, Florida)
- Washington ARTCC - KZDC/ZDC (Leesburg, Virginia)
- Boston ARTCC - KZBW/ZBW (Nashua, New Hampshire)
- San Juan FIR - TJZS/ZSU (Puerto Rico)
- Piarco FIR (Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago)
- Shanwick Oceanic ControlShanwick Oceanic ControlShanwick is the Air Traffic Control name given to the area of International Airspace which lies above the northeast part of the North Atlantic...
(United Kingdom) - Santa Maria FIR (Azores, Portugal)
- Moncton FIR - CZQM (Moncton, New Brunswick)
- Gander FIR - CZQX (Gander, Newfoundland)
Low Altitude Sectors
- MXE 25 (Modena 25) - 135.45
- LRP 26 (Lancaster 26) - 120.02/ Backup 133.17
- MDT 27 (Middletown 27) - 132.2
Low Altitude Sectors
- PARKE 39 (PARKE 39) - 132.1
- ARD 55 (Yardley 55) - 134.6
- DIXIE 68 (DIXIE 68) - 118.97
Low Altitude Sectors
- HUO 35 (Huguenot 35) - 132.6
- SAX 36 (Sparta 36) - 133.15
- CFB 50 (Binghamton 50) - 133.35
- LHY 51 (Lake Henry 51) - 134.45
Low Altitude Sectors
- BWZ 74 (Broadway 74) - 132.15
- FQM 91 (Williamsport 91) - 124.9/ 134.8
- PTW 92 (Pottstown 92) - 124.62
- SWISSDALE 93 (Swissdale 93) - 123.62
High Altitude Sectors
- JOBOC 65 (JOBOC 65) - 125.92
- ATLANTIC 86 (Barnegat, NJ) - 133.5 // 354.000
- BDA 81 (BERMUDA) - 128.5