In United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

, tower en route control (TEC) is a collection of published low-altitude, short-distance 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 ....

 routes through large metropolitan areas that require no level of air traffic control

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...

higher than approach-control facilities.

Overview

TEC routing is intended to better distribute the load of traffic coordination over different ATC facilities and levels by allowing low-altitude IFR traffic engaged in short flights within congested areas to conduct the entire flight under the control of approach-control or lower levels of ATC. Aircraft flying TEC routes can complete an entire flight without the need to contact major air traffic control centers. Prepared TEC routes have been published for turbojet and lighter aircraft between major airports within large and congested airspaces.

External links

• NFDC Preferred Routes Database - database of TEC routes and other routes (U.S.)