An IATA airport code , also known as an IATA location identifier , IATA station code , or simply a location identifier , is a three-letter geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The characters prominently displayed on baggage tags attached at airport check-in desks are an example of a way these codes are used.
146-454: London Luton Airport ( IATA : LTN , ICAO : EGGW ) is an international airport located in Luton , Bedfordshire , England , situated 1.7 miles (2.7 km) east of the town centre, and is the fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by Luton Rising, a company wholly owned by Luton Borough Council , and operated by London Luton Airport Operations Ltd (LLAOL). An airport
292-470: A Scheduled Monument , would be threatened by the expansion. On 6 July 2007, it was announced that the owners of London Luton Airport had decided to scrap plans to build a second runway and new terminal for financial reasons. In order for the airport to expand further, the Department for Transport (DfT) advised the airport authority to use the airport site more efficiently. The DfT supports plans to extend
438-411: A landfill , while 06/24 had effectively become a taxiway . For Luton to maintain viability, it was necessary to update airfield services, and achieve CAT III status. This meant updating the instrument landing system (ILS); glidepath and localiser and removing the hump in the runway; even a six-foot person could not see one end of the runway from the other. The hump was removed by building up layers at
584-477: A ' Flight Information Service ', which is similar to flight following. In the United Kingdom, it is known as a 'basic service'. En-route air traffic controllers issue clearances and instructions for airborne aircraft, and pilots are required to comply with these instructions. En-route controllers also provide air traffic control services to many smaller airports around the country, including clearance off
730-451: A 'Single European Sky', hoping to boost efficiency and gain economies of scale. The primary method of controlling the immediate airport environment is visual observation from the airport control tower. The tower is typically a tall, windowed structure, located within the airport grounds. The air traffic controllers , usually abbreviated 'controller', are responsible for separation and efficient movement of aircraft and vehicles operating on
876-699: A base for Monarch Airlines until it ceased operations in October 2017. The vast majority of the routes served are within Europe, although there are some charter and scheduled routes to destinations in Northern Africa and Asia. Luton Municipal Airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938 by the Secretary of State for Air , Kingsley Wood . Situated where the valley of the River Lea cuts its way through
1022-400: A bordering terminal or approach control). Terminal control is responsible for ensuring that aircraft are at an appropriate altitude when they are handed off, and that aircraft arrive at a suitable rate for landing. Not all airports have a radar approach or terminal control available. In this case, the en-route centre or a neighbouring terminal or approach control may co-ordinate directly with
1168-433: A certain airport or airspace becomes a factor, there may be ground 'stops' (or 'slot delays'), or re-routes may be necessary to ensure the system does not get overloaded. The primary responsibility of clearance delivery is to ensure that the aircraft has the correct aerodrome information, such as weather and airport conditions, the correct route after departure, and time restrictions relating to that flight. This information
1314-417: A commercial airport, with terminal drop-off, bus stands, taxi ranks and short-term car parks being accessed facing south towards the runway, being connected by a road. This road tunnels under a taxiway which connects the western apron area to the runway's taxiway network. There are approximately 60 stands available for aircraft, with 28 dedicated gates, which are all hardstands. All of these stands are located on
1460-416: A controller can review the last radar returns from the aircraft to determine its likely position. For an example, see the crash report in the following citation. RAS is also useful to technicians who are maintaining radar systems. The mapping of flights in real-time is based on the air traffic control system, and volunteer ADS-B receivers. In 1991, data on the location of aircraft was made available by
1606-574: A cost of £38 million. In 2018, over 16.5 million passengers passed through the airport, a record total for Luton making it the fifth busiest airport in the UK. It is the fourth-largest airport serving the London area after Heathrow , Gatwick and Stansted , and is one of London's six international airports along with London City and Southend . The airport serves as a base for easyJet , TUI Airways , Ryanair and Wizz Air and previously served as
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#17327978750421752-493: A cost of £38 million; this work included a 9,000 sq ft (800 m) area featuring a spectacular vaulted ceiling was completed with the new terminal, but intended to lie unused until required. On 1 July 2005, the new departure hall opened on schedule, featuring a boarding pier extending 200 m (660 ft) out between the airport's north and east aprons and relocated security, customs and immigration facilities, as well as an expanded number of boarding gates from
1898-400: A distance of 100 nautical miles (185 kilometres; 115 miles). Terminal controllers are responsible for providing all ATC services within their airspace. Traffic flow is broadly divided into departures, arrivals, and overflights. As aircraft move in and out of the terminal airspace, they are 'handed off' to the next appropriate control facility (a control tower, an en-route control facility, or
2044-455: A dozen already served ones from other bases. In December 2018, a three-year redevelopment of the airport commenced. Costing roughly £160 million, the airport management stated that the upgrade, which included new shops, a new boarding pier, and more boarding gates, would increase overall capacity by 50%, enabling the site to accommodate 18 million passengers by 2020. Campaigners from local pressure groups such as LADACAN have complained that
2190-578: A fifth of all holiday flights from the UK departed from Luton Airport; during 1972, Luton Airport was the most profitable airport in the country. However, Luton suffered a severe setback in August 1974 when major package holiday operator Clarksons and its in-house airline Court Line (which also operated coach links) ceased operations and were liquidated . Nevertheless, by 1978, the airport's management initiated an expansion plan as to allow Luton to accommodate as many as 5 million passengers per year. During
2336-432: A large airspace area, they will typically use long-range radar, that has the capability, at higher altitudes, to see aircraft within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres; 230 miles) of the radar antenna. They may also use radar data to control when it provides a better 'picture' of the traffic, or when it can fill in a portion of the area not covered by the long range radar. In the U.S. system, at higher altitudes, over 90% of
2482-414: A large amount of data being available to the controller. To address this, automation systems have been designed that consolidate the radar data for the controller. This consolidation includes eliminating duplicate radar returns, ensuring the best radar for each geographical area is providing the data, and displaying the data in an effective format. Centres also exercise control over traffic travelling over
2628-620: A limited service for four hours per day, with the 24-hour service coming into effect around the end of the month. Shortly after, the DART transit replaced the shuttle bus service. The single fare for the DART is £4.90. Rail tickets marked "Luton Airport" include the price of the DART transit. Concessions are given to Luton residents, and free travel is provided for holders of concessionary travel passes and disabled blue badge holders, and for airport workers. Local buses connect Luton Airport with Luton town centre and other nearby places. The airport
2774-417: A map of the area, the position of various aircraft, and data tags that include aircraft identification, speed, altitude, and other information described in local procedures. In adverse weather conditions, the tower controllers may also use surface movement radar (SMR), surface movement guidance and control system (SMGCS), or advanced surface movement guidance and control system (ASMGCS) to control traffic on
2920-567: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This
3066-746: A new area control centre into service at the London Area Control Centre (LACC) at Swanwick in Hampshire, relieving a busy suburban centre at West Drayton in Middlesex, north of London Heathrow Airport . Software from Lockheed-Martin predominates at the London Area Control Centre. However, the centre was initially troubled by software and communications problems causing delays and occasional shutdowns. Some tools are available in different domains to help
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#17327978750423212-419: A number of airlines, particularly in Europe, have started using alphanumeric call signs that are not based on flight numbers (e.g. DLH23LG, spoken as Lufthansa -two-three-lima-golf , to prevent confusion between incoming DLH23 and outgoing DLH24 in the same frequency). Additionally, it is the right of the air traffic controller to change the 'audio' call sign for the period the flight is in his sector if there
3358-558: A partnership of Airport Group International (AGI) and Barclays Private Equity. AGI was a specialist airport management and development company once owned by Lockheed Martin . In 1999, AGI was sold to TBI plc ; in 2001, Barclays also sold its shares in Luton to TBI plc. On 25 November 1999, a new £40 million terminal designed by Foster + Partners was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip . This terminal houses 60 check-in desks, baggage and flight information systems and
3504-510: A radar control facility that is associated with that specific airport. In most countries, this is referred to as terminal control and abbreviated to TMC; in the U.S., it is referred to as a 'terminal radar approach control' or TRACON. While every airport varies, terminal controllers usually handle traffic in a 30-to-50-nautical-mile (56 to 93 km; 35 to 58 mi) radius from the airport. Where there are many busy airports close together, one consolidated terminal control centre may service all
3650-449: A rapid increase in passenger numbers; during 1997/1998, 3.4 million people travelled via the airport, while 4.4 million travellers were recording during the following year, making Luton Airport the fastest growing major airport in the UK. In August 1997, to fund an £80 million extension of the airport, the council issued a 30-year concession contract to a public-private partnership consortium, London Luton Airport Operations Limited,
3796-428: A seamless manner; in other cases, local agreements may allow 'silent handovers', such that the receiving centre does not require any co-ordination if traffic is presented in an agreed manner. After the hand-off, the aircraft is given a frequency change, and its pilot begins talking to the next controller. This process continues until the aircraft is handed off to a terminal controller ('approach'). Since centres control
3942-403: A separate security screening hall, as well as some shops, service counters and the arrivals facilities. After the security screening hall, stairs lead to the departures lounge on the upper floor, where several more stores, restaurants and all 30 departure gates in three side piers ( 1-19 , 20-28 and 30-43 ) can be found. One airport lounge is located inside the terminal. The airport possesses
4088-520: A single hole in a line of thunderstorms. Occasionally, weather considerations cause delays to aircraft prior to their departure as routes are closed by thunderstorms. Much money has been spent on creating software to streamline this process. However, at some ACCs, air traffic controllers still record data for each flight on strips of paper and personally coordinate their paths. In newer sites, these flight progress strips have been replaced by electronic data presented on computer screens. As new equipment
4234-430: A single runway, running roughly east to west (07/25), with a length of 2,162 m (7,093 ft) at an elevation of 526 ft (160 m). The runway is equipped with an Instrument Landing System (ILS) rated to Category IIIB, allowing the airport to continue operating in conditions of poor visibility. All the airport facilities lie to the north of the runway. The terminal and aprons have an unconventional layout for
4380-480: A study that compared stress in the general population and this kind of system markedly showed more stress level for controllers. This variation can be explained, at least in part, by the characteristics of the job. Surveillance displays are also available to controllers at larger airports to assist with controlling air traffic. Controllers may use a radar system called secondary surveillance radar for airborne traffic approaching and departing. These displays include
4526-648: A study, with the support of the CBI , easyJet , the Federation of Small Businesses , and the Bedfordshire and the Hertfordshire Chambers of Commerce (among others) which sought to explore opportunities to expand rail services to and from the airport. The study found four fast trains per hour from central London was possible. Negotiations are underway with the Department for Transport to extend
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4672-451: A target by interrogating the transponder, the ADS-B equipped aircraft 'broadcasts' a position report as determined by the navigation equipment on board the aircraft. ADS-C is another mode of automatic dependent surveillance, however ADS-C operates in the 'contract' mode, where the aircraft reports a position, automatically or initiated by the pilot, based on a predetermined time interval. It
4818-457: A third stop on the Luton DART transit, which has been completed in 2023, transporting passengers from Luton Airport Parkway station to the concourse of the airport. EasyJet's head office is Hangar 89 (H89), a building located on the grounds of London Luton Airport; the hangar, a former Britannia Airways / TUI facility, is located 150 metres (490 ft) from the former site of EasyLand,
4964-415: A two or three letter combination followed by the flight number such as AAL872 or VLG1011. As such, they appear on flight plans and ATC radar labels. There are also the audio or radio-telephony call signs used on the radio contact between pilots and air traffic control. These are not always identical to their written counterparts. An example of an audio call sign would be 'Speedbird 832', instead of
5110-419: A unique callsign ( Mode S ). Certain types of weather may also register on the radar screen. These inputs, added to data from other radars, are correlated to build the air situation. Some basic processing occurs on the radar tracks, such as calculating ground speed and magnetic headings. Usually, a flight data processing system manages all the flight plan related data, incorporating, in a low or high degree,
5256-443: A wide range of shops, restaurants and bars. The airport's railway station, Luton Airport Parkway was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on the same day and was built at a cost of £23 million. By train, journey times to the airport from central London would be reduced to less than 30 minutes. In September 2004, Luton Airport embarked on a 10-month project to develop the departure and arrivals lounges and other facilities at
5402-509: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow
5548-563: Is a major maintenance base for several airlines including TUI Airways , EasyJet , and previously Monarch Airlines . By contrast to the heavily built up apron area, the airport's southern boundary is entirely rural with only a few isolated farm buildings and houses close to the airport boundary. In February 2019, London Luton Airport Limited announced plans to expand the airport by building a second terminal. The expansion would increase airport capacity to handle 32 million passengers per year 2039. The enlarged airport would continue to operate using
5694-541: Is a risk of confusion, usually choosing the aircraft registration identifier instead. Many technologies are used in air traffic control systems. Primary and secondary radars are used to enhance a controller's situational awareness within their assigned airspace; all types of aircraft send back primary echoes of varying sizes to controllers' screens as radar energy is bounced off their skins, and transponder -equipped aircraft reply to secondary radar interrogations by giving an ID ( Mode A ), an altitude ( Mode C ), and / or
5840-508: Is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace , and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of traffic in the air, and provide information and other support for pilots. Personnel of air traffic control monitor aircraft location in their assigned airspace by radar , and communicate with
5986-601: Is a short stay car park adjacent to the terminal, together with medium and long term on airport car parks to the west and east of the terminal respectively and linked to the terminal by shuttle buses. Pre-booked off airport parking is also available from several independent operators. Luton Airport Parkway has served the airport since 1999. It is on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras , between which, journeys take as little as 22 minutes on East Midlands Railway services. In 2016, Luton Airport commissioned
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6132-416: Is a wide range of capabilities on these systems as they are being modernised. Older systems will display a map of the airport and the target. Newer systems include the capability to display higher-quality mapping, radar targets, data blocks, and safety alerts, and to interface with other systems, such as digital flight strips. Air control (known to pilots as tower or tower control ) is responsible for
6278-510: Is also coordinated with the relevant radar centre or flow control unit and ground control, to ensure that the aircraft reaches the runway in time to meet the time restriction provided by the relevant unit. At some airports, clearance delivery also plans aircraft push-backs and engine starts, in which case it is known as the ground movement planner (GMP): this position is particularly important at heavily congested airports to prevent taxiway and aircraft parking area gridlock. Flight data (which
6424-464: Is also possible for controllers to request more frequent reports to more quickly establish aircraft position for specific reasons. However, since the cost for each report is charged by the ADS service providers to the company operating the aircraft, more frequent reports are not commonly requested, except in emergency situations. ADS-C is significant, because it can be used where it is not possible to locate
6570-617: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and
6716-402: Is brought in, more and more sites are upgrading away from paper flight strips. Constrained control capacity and growing traffic lead to flight cancellation and delays : By then the market for air-traffic services was worth $ 14bn. More efficient ATC could save 5-10% of aviation fuel by avoiding holding patterns and indirect airways . The military takes 80% of Chinese airspace, congesting
6862-523: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at
7008-671: Is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,
7154-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU
7300-543: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier
7446-518: Is required to have clearance from ground control. This is normally done via VHF / UHF radio, but there may be special cases where other procedures are used. Aircraft or vehicles without radios must respond to ATC instructions via aviation light signals , or else be led by official airport vehicles with radios. People working on the airport surface normally have a communications link through which they can communicate with ground control, commonly either by handheld radio or even cell phone . Ground control
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#17327978750427592-480: Is responsible for the airport movement areas, as well as areas not released to the airlines or other users. This generally includes all taxiways, inactive runways, holding areas, and some transitional aprons or intersections where aircraft arrive, having vacated the runway or departure gate. Exact areas and control responsibilities are clearly defined in local documents and agreements at each airport. Any aircraft, vehicle, or person walking or working in these areas
7738-438: Is routinely combined with clearance delivery) is the position that is responsible for ensuring that both controllers and pilots have the most current information: pertinent weather changes, outages, airport ground delays / ground stops, runway closures, etc. Flight data may inform the pilots using a recorded continuous loop on a specific frequency known as the automatic terminal information service (ATIS). Many airports have
7884-484: Is served by the Route A of the Luton to Dunstable Busway , a bus rapid transit route which connects the airport with Luton Town Centre and the neighbouring towns of Dunstable , Houghton Regis and Milton Keynes . The buses, operated by Arriva Shires & Essex , run on a segregated guided busway track between Luton and Dunstable. Conventional bus services also operate, connecting the airport with towns and cities in
8030-546: Is the only facility with radio or phone coverage. The first airport traffic control tower, regulating arrivals, departures, and surface movement of aircraft in the US at a specific airport, opened in Cleveland in 1930. Approach / departure control facilities were created after adoption of radar in the 1950s to monitor and control the busy airspace around larger airports. The first air route traffic control center (ARTCC), which directs
8176-606: Is the position that issues route clearances to aircraft, typically before they commence taxiing. These clearances contain details of the route that the aircraft is expected to fly after departure. Clearance delivery, or, at busy airports, ground movement planner (GMP) or traffic management coordinator (TMC) will, if necessary, coordinate with the relevant radar centre or flow control unit to obtain releases for aircraft. At busy airports, these releases are often automatic, and are controlled by local agreements allowing 'free-flow' departures. When weather or extremely high demand for
8322-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained
8468-466: Is vital to the smooth operation of the airport because this position impacts the sequencing of departure aircraft, affecting the safety and efficiency of the airport's operation. Some busier airports have surface movement radar (SMR), such as ASDE-3, AMASS, or ASDE-X , designed to display aircraft and vehicles on the ground. These are used by ground control as an additional tool to control ground traffic, particularly at night or in poor visibility. There
8614-571: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with
8760-903: The Federal Aviation Administration to the airline industry. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Helicopter Association International, and the National Air Transportation Association, petitioned the FAA to make ASDI information available on a 'need-to-know' basis. Subsequently, NBAA advocated
8906-830: The Midlands and North of England. There are also three services around the airport operated by APCOA Parking which operate 24 hours a day serving the terminal, mid stay, long stay, and staff car parks. The service that serves the staff car park also serves the car hire centre and rental companies and all stops in between including the Holiday Inn Express , the TUI Airways HQ And the ID Unit. A new fleet of six Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses were purchased for these operations during 2014. A range of other bus services operated by off-site parking companies also serve
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#17327978750429052-733: The pilots by radio . To prevent collisions, ATC enforces traffic separation rules, which ensure each aircraft maintains a minimum amount of 'empty space' around it at all times. It is also common for ATC to provide services to all private , military , and commercial aircraft operating within its airspace; not just civilian aircraft. Depending on the type of flight and the class of airspace, ATC may issue instructions that pilots are required to obey, or advisories (known as flight information in some countries) that pilots may, at their discretion, disregard. The pilot in command of an aircraft always retains final authority for its safe operation, and may, in an emergency, deviate from ATC instructions to
9198-570: The 1960s, Luton Airport played a key role in the development of the package holiday business, in which the popularity of the foreign holiday rose substantially, as the launch of new services had allowed greater numbers of people to travel abroad for the first time. Luton became the operating base for several charter airlines , such as Autair (which went on to become Court Line ), Euravia (now TUI Airways , following Euravia's change of name to Britannia Airways and subsequent merger with First Choice Airways and TUI rebrand) and Dan-Air . By 1969,
9344-418: The 1980s, the airport experienced a decline in customer numbers; this was due to lack of reinvestment while the nearby London Stansted Airport , which was also located north of London, was growing. The council responded to lobbying and focused again on developing the airport. In 1985, a new international terminal building was opened by the then Prince of Wales (now Charles III ). Further updates and changes over
9490-446: The 1990s, such as charter operator MyTravel Group and new low-cost scheduled flights from Debonair and EasyJet , contributed to a rapid increase in passenger numbers that made it the fastest growing major airport in the UK. In August 1997, to fund an £80 million extension of the airport, a 30-year concession contract was issued to a public-private partnership consortium, London Luton Airport Operations Limited . Throughout
9636-400: The 1990s, £30 million was invested in Luton's infrastructure and facilities. In November 1999, a new £40 million terminal was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip ; the new building houses 60 check-in desks, baggage and flight information systems and a range of commercial outlets. During 2004/5, the departure and arrivals lounges and other facilities were redeveloped at
9782-531: The EU called for a 'Digital European Sky', focusing on cutting costs by including a common digitisation standard, and allowing controllers to move to where they are needed instead of merging national ATCs, as it would not solve all problems. Single air-traffic control services in continent-sized America and China does not alleviate congestion. Eurocontrol tries to reduce delays by diverting flights to less busy routes: flight paths across Europe were redesigned to accommodate
9928-459: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Control tower Air traffic control ( ATC )
10074-407: The U.S. airspace is covered by radar, and often by multiple radar systems; however, coverage may be inconsistent at lower altitudes used by aircraft, due to high terrain or distance from radar facilities. A centre may require numerous radar systems to cover the airspace assigned to them, and may also rely on pilot position reports from aircraft flying below the floor of radar coverage. This results in
10220-492: The U.S., TRACONs are additionally designated by a three-digit alphanumeric code. For example, the Chicago TRACON is designated C90. Air traffic control also provides services to aircraft in flight between airports. Pilots fly under one of two sets of rules for separation: visual flight rules (VFR), or instrument flight rules (IFR). Air traffic controllers have different responsibilities to aircraft operating under
10366-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append
10512-465: The active runway surfaces. Air control gives clearance for aircraft takeoff or landing, whilst ensuring that prescribed runway separation will exist at all times. If the air controller detects any unsafe conditions, a landing aircraft may be instructed to ' go-around ', and be re-sequenced into the landing pattern. This re-sequencing will depend on the type of flight, and may be handled by the air controller, approach, or terminal area controller. Within
10658-471: The air by holding over specified locations until they may be safely sequenced to the runway. Up until the 1990s, holding, which has significant environmental and cost implications, was a routine occurrence at many airports. Advances in computers now allow the sequencing of aircraft hours in advance. Thus, aircraft may be delayed before they even take off (by being given a 'slot'), or may reduce speed in flight and proceed more slowly thus significantly reducing
10804-468: The air controllers aware of the traffic flow towards their runways to maximise runway utilisation through effective approach spacing. Crew resource management (CRM) procedures are often used to ensure this communication process is efficient and clear. Within ATC, it is usually known as 'team resource management' (TRM), and the level of focus on TRM varies within different ATC organisations. Clearance delivery
10950-900: The air traffic control system are primarily related to the volume of air traffic demand placed on the system, and weather. Several factors dictate the amount of traffic that can land at an airport in a given amount of time. Each landing aircraft must touch down, slow, and exit the runway , before the next aircraft crosses the approach end of the runway. This process requires at least one, and up to four minutes for each aircraft. Allowing for departures between arrivals, each runway can thus handle about 30 aircraft arrivals per hour. A large airport with two arrival runways can handle about 60 arrivals per hour in good weather. Problems arise when airlines schedule more arrivals into an airport than can be physically handled, or when delays elsewhere cause groups of aircraft – that would otherwise be separated in time – to arrive simultaneously. Aircraft must then be delayed in
11096-454: The air, a ground delay programme may be established, delaying aircraft on the ground before departure due to conditions at the arrival airport. In Area Control Centres, a major weather problem is thunderstorms , which present a variety of hazards to aircraft. Airborne aircraft will deviate around storms, reducing the capacity of the en-route system, by requiring more space per aircraft, or causing congestion, as many aircraft try to move through
11242-412: The aircraft approaches its destination, the centre is responsible for issuing instructions to pilots so that they will meet altitude restrictions by specific points, as well as providing many destination airports with a traffic flow, which prohibits all of the arrivals being 'bunched together'. These 'flow restrictions' often begin in the middle of the route, as controllers will position aircraft landing in
11388-481: The aircraft operator, and identical call sign might be used for the same scheduled journey each day it is operated, even if the departure time varies a little across different days of the week. The call sign of the return flight often differs only by the final digit from the outbound flight. Generally, airline flight numbers are even if east-bound, and odd if west-bound. In order to reduce the possibility of two call signs on one frequency at any time sounding too similar,
11534-448: The airport had failed to incorporate noise reduction measures into the plan, while an airport spokesman stated "Our noise control measures are some of the most stringent of any major UK airport", noting that it had applied for additional flight restrictions. In addition, earlier that year, work had commenced on the construction of the Luton DART , an automated guided people mover which will travel between Luton Airport Parkway station and
11680-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,
11826-533: The airport to Ireland for a number of years, transferred its London operating base from Luton to rival Stansted. A decline in passenger numbers at Luton was attributed to this move. Later in the 1990s, Airtours began charter flights from the airport, using the Airtours International Airways brand and new low-cost scheduled flights from Debonair and easyJet , the latter making Luton its base. The arrival of these new operators marked
11972-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after
12118-609: The airport. These include Airparks, Paige Airport Parking, Centrebus and Coach Hire 4 U. The latter two operators provide staff shuttle buses on behalf of TUI and EasyJet. A former airport shuttle bus linking the airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station has been replaced by the Luton DART rail transit, which came into service in March 2023. [REDACTED] Media related to London Luton Airport at Wikimedia Commons IATA airport code The assignment of these codes
12264-419: The airport. With costs estimated at £200 million, DART eliminated the need for shuttle buses since its opening on 27 March 2023. The airport remains in municipal ownership, owned by Luton Borough Council but managed by the private sector London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL). London Luton Airport has a Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P835) that allows flights for
12410-490: The airports. The airspace boundaries and altitudes assigned to a terminal control centre, which vary widely from airport to airport, are based on factors such as traffic flows, neighbouring airports, and terrain. A large and complex example was the London Terminal Control Centre (LTCC), which controlled traffic for five main London airports up to an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,096 metres) and out to
12556-578: The amount of holding. Air traffic control errors occur when the separation (either vertical or horizontal) between airborne aircraft falls below the minimum prescribed separation set (for the domestic United States) by the US Federal Aviation Administration. Separation minimums for terminal control areas (TCAs) around airports are lower than en-route standards. Errors generally occur during periods following times of intense activity, when controllers tend to relax and overlook
12702-411: The basic infrastructure, various business partners were courted and business models were considered. The process envisaged a cargo centre, an airport railway station, and people mover from station to airport terminal (hence the unused underpass parallel to the road as one approaches the terminal). During 1991, an attempt was made to sell Luton Airport, but it was unsuccessful; instead, a new management team
12848-470: The broad-scale dissemination of air traffic data. The Aircraft Situational Display to Industry ( ASDI ) system now conveys up-to-date flight information to the airline industry and the public. Some companies that distribute ASDI information are Flightradar24 , FlightExplorer, FlightView, and FlyteComm. Each company maintains a website that provides free updated information to the public on flight status. Stand-alone programmes are also available for displaying
12994-528: The centre provides a clearance. Centre controllers are responsible for issuing instructions to pilots to climb their aircraft to their assigned altitude, while, at the same time, ensuring that the aircraft is properly separated from all other aircraft in its immediate area. Additionally, the aircraft must be placed in a flow consistent with the aircraft's route of flight. This effort is complicated by crossing traffic, severe weather, special missions that require large airspace allocations, and traffic density. When
13140-502: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share
13286-603: The controller further: In the United States, some alterations to traffic control procedures are being examined: In Europe, the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme plans to develop new methods, technologies, procedures, and systems to accommodate future (2020 and beyond) air traffic needs. In October 2018, European controller unions dismissed setting targets to improve ATC as "a waste of time and effort", as new technology could cut costs for users but threaten their jobs. In April 2019,
13432-472: The different sets of rules. While IFR flights are under positive control, in the US and Canada, VFR pilots can request 'flight following' (radar advisories), which provides traffic advisory services on a time permitting basis, and may also provide assistance in avoiding areas of weather and flight restrictions, as well as allowing pilots into the air traffic control system prior to the need to a clearance into certain airspace. Throughout Europe, pilots may request
13578-525: The end of the conflict, the site was returned to the local council. In 1952 activity at the airport resumed on a commercial basis, a new control tower being opened around this time. British aviation company Percival Aircraft had its factory at the airport until the early 1960s. Since the mid-1960s, executive aircraft have been based at the airport, initially operated by McAlpine Aviation. These activities have grown and several executive jet operators and maintenance companies are currently based at Luton. In
13724-441: The end of the runway; this was done over 72 successive nights between October 1988 and February 1989, with the height being raised 90 mm on one particular night. During the course of this work, the airport would re-open for flights during the day. In 1990, the airport was renamed London Luton Airport to re-emphasise the airport's proximity to the UK capital. In 1991, another setback occurred when Ryanair , which had flown from
13870-886: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through
14016-598: The equivalent term air route traffic control center. Each centre is responsible for a given flight information region (FIR). Each flight information region typically covers many thousands of square miles of airspace, and the airports within that airspace. Centres control IFR aircraft from the time they depart from an airport or terminal area's airspace, to the time they arrive at another airport or terminal area's airspace. Centres may also 'pick up' VFR aircraft that are already airborne, and integrate them into their system. These aircraft must continue under VFR flight rules until
14162-507: The existing single runway. LLAL have outlined several options for the site of the new Terminal 2. Most of the proposals involve a development that will encroach upon Wigmore Valley Park, a designated County Wildlife Site ; an alternative site to the east would encroach upon the London Green Belt , and a further option proposes siting a new terminal to the south of the runway. A public consultation in October 2019 included plans for
14308-520: The extent required to maintain safe operation of the aircraft. Pursuant to requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), ATC operations are conducted either in the English language, or the local language used by the station on the ground. In practice, the native language for a region is used; however, English must be used upon request. In 1920, Croydon Airport near London, England,
14454-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from
14600-492: The following 15 years were made, including the opening of a new international terminal and automated baggage handling facility, a new control tower with updated air traffic control systems, a new cargo centre and runway upgrades. In 1987, Luton Airport became a limited company , of which Luton Borough Council was the sole shareholder; this reorganisation was taken as it was felt that the airport ought to be operated at arm's length via an independent management team. While developing
14746-478: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When
14892-523: The following provides a general concept of the delegation of responsibilities within the air traffic control tower environment. Remote and virtual tower (RVT) is a system based on air traffic controllers being located somewhere other than at the local airport tower, and still able to provide air traffic control services. Displays for the air traffic controllers may be live video, synthetic images based on surveillance sensor data, or both. Ground control (sometimes known as ground movement control , GMC)
15038-597: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after
15184-432: The geographic location of airborne instrument flight rules (IFR) air traffic anywhere in the FAA air traffic system. Positions are reported for both commercial and general aviation traffic. The programmes can overlay air traffic with a wide selection of maps such as, geo-political boundaries, air traffic control centre boundaries, high altitude jet routes, satellite cloud and radar imagery. The day-to-day problems faced by
15330-427: The ground and clearance for approach to an airport. Controllers adhere to a set of separation standards that define the minimum distance allowed between aircraft. These distances vary depending on the equipment and procedures used in providing ATC services. En-route air traffic controllers work in facilities called air traffic control centres, each of which is commonly referred to as a 'centre'. The United States uses
15476-408: The information of the track once the correlation between them (flight plan and track) is established. All this information is distributed to modern operational display systems , making it available to controllers. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has spent over US$ 3 billion on software, but a fully automated system is still yet to be achieved. In 2002, the United Kingdom commissioned
15622-571: The infrastructure for a radar system (e.g., over water). Computerised radar displays are now being designed to accept ADS-C inputs as part of their display. This technology is currently used in portions of the North Atlantic and the Pacific by a variety of states who share responsibility for the control of this airspace. 'Precision approach radars' (PAR) are commonly used by military controllers of air forces of several countries, to assist
15768-487: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in
15914-690: The last flight training operator had ceased training from the airport. From 2006 to 2008, Silverjet operated long-haul flights to Newark and Dubai from a dedicated terminal, but ceased operations due to the Great Recession . In September 2016, La Compagnie announced it would cease operating its Luton to Newark service citing economic reasons. Therefore, Luton lost its only long-haul service. In February 2017, Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air announced it would to open its first British base at Luton Airport inaugurating three new routes to Tel Aviv , Pristina and Kutaisi in addition to more than
16060-424: The last three numbers (e.g. three-four-five for N12345). In the United States, the prefix may be an aircraft type, model, or manufacturer in place of the first registration character, for example, 'N11842' could become 'Cessna 842'. This abbreviation is only allowed after communications have been established in each sector. Before around 1980, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ICAO were using
16206-517: The manoeuvring area (taxiways and runways). The areas of responsibility for tower controllers fall into three general operational disciplines: local control or air control, ground control, and flight data / clearance delivery. Other categories, such as airport apron control, or ground movement planner, may also exist at extremely busy airports. While each tower may have unique airport-specific procedures, such as multiple teams of controllers ( crews ) at major or complex airports with multiple runways,
16352-432: The mid-1960s, executive aircraft have been based at the airport. During the late 1970s, an expansion plan was initiated at Luton to accommodate as many as 5 million passengers per year, although the airport experienced a reduction in passenger numbers in the 1980s. In 1990, the airport was renamed London Luton Airport to try and emphasise the airport's proximity to the capital. The arrival of new operators at Luton during
16498-465: The movement of aircraft between departure and destination, was opened in Newark in 1935, followed in 1936 by Chicago and Cleveland. Currently in the US, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operates 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers . After the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision , killing all 128 on board, the FAA was given the air-traffic responsibility in the United States in 1958, and this
16644-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from
16790-530: The new airport in Istanbul, which opened in April, but the extra capacity will be absorbed by rising demand for air travel. Well-paid jobs in western Europe could move east with cheaper labour. The average Spanish controller earn over €200,000 a year, over seven times the country average salary, more than pilots, and at least ten controllers were paid over €810,000 ($ 1.1m) a year in 2010. French controllers spent
16936-682: The north-east end of the Chiltern Hills , the airport occupies a hill-top location, with a roughly 40 m (130 ft) drop-off at the western end of the runway . The airport, which was owned by the Borough of Luton , was considered to be the northern terminal for neighbouring London . During the Second World War , the airport was used by the Royal Air Force , fighters of No. 264 Squadron being based there. Following
17082-520: The northern side of the terminal building, away from the runway and connected to it by a U-shaped set of taxiways and aprons that together encircle the terminal; recently, an accident caused by a vehicle fire in the Terminal 1 Car Park has left the car park destroyed. The northern side of the U-shaped apron is ringed by a continuous line of hangars and other buildings, emphasising the fact that Luton
17228-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which
17374-438: The overall capacity for any given route. The North Atlantic Track system is a notable example of this method. Some air navigation service providers (e.g., Airservices Australia, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Nav Canada , etc.) have implemented automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) as part of their surveillance capability. This newer technology reverses the radar concept. Instead of radar 'finding'
17520-482: The pilot in final phases of landing in places where instrument landing system and other sophisticated airborne equipment are unavailable to assist the pilots in marginal or near zero visibility conditions. This procedure is also called a 'talk-down'. A radar archive system (RAS) keeps an electronic record of all radar information, preserving it for a few weeks. This information can be useful for search and rescue . When an aircraft has 'disappeared' from radar screens,
17666-544: The presence of traffic and conditions that lead to loss of minimum separation. Beyond runway capacity issues, the weather is a major factor in traffic capacity. Rain, ice , snow, or hail on the runway cause landing aircraft to take longer to slow and exit, thus reducing the safe arrival rate, and requiring more space between landing aircraft. Fog also requires a decrease in the landing rate. These, in turn, increase airborne delay for holding aircraft. If more aircraft are scheduled than can be safely and efficiently held in
17812-452: The previous headquarters of EasyJet. Hangar 89, built in 1974, has 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m) of office space and can house two aircraft the size of an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 at one time. When EasyJet received H89, it had a 1970s style office setup. EasyJet modernised the building and painted it orange. In addition, TUI Airways head office is at the airport, and previously Monarch Airlines , along with that of Monarch Group,
17958-569: The previous number of 19 to 26. In 2004, the airport management announced that they supported the government plans to expand the facilities, which included a full-length runway and a new terminal. However, local campaign groups, including Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN) and Stop Luton Airport Plan (SLAP) opposed the new expansion plans, for reasons including noise pollution and traffic concerns; LADACAN also claimed that various sites, including Someries Castle ,
18104-440: The public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. An indicator of the importance of the airport to the economy of Luton is that Luton is reported to have the highest number of taxicabs per head of population in the United Kingdom. Luton Airport has a single, two-storey passenger terminal building which has been expanded and rearranged several times. The ground floor has a main hall equipped with 62 check-in desks ( 1-62 ),
18250-695: The region and parts of north London, including the 100, operated by Arriva, which offers an hourly daytime connection to the nearby towns of Hitchin and Stevenage ; Metroline service 84A; Courtney Buses coach service to Bracknell . Direct coach services to London include Green Line route 757 operated by Arriva Shires & Essex and the A1 operated by National Express which operate competing services to and from Victoria Coach Station . EasyBus services operate towards Liverpool Street station . A range of longer distance National Express services linking Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick Airports as well as destinations in
18396-433: The runway from its current 2,160 m (7,087 ft) length to 3,000 m (9,843 ft) and increase the length of the taxiway . A full-length runway would increase airlines' operational flexibility by enabling the use of aircraft that have a greater payload capacity and longer range than is currently possible. A longer taxiway would maximise runway use by reducing the need for taxiing aircraft to cross or move along
18542-416: The runway. In January 2005, London Luton Airport Operations Limited was acquired by Airport Concessions Development Limited, a company owned by Abertis Infraestructuras (90%) and Aena Internacional (10%), both Spanish companies. In November 2013, ownership of London Luton Airport Operations Ltd passed to Aena and Ardian . In April 2018, AMP Capital acquired Ardian's 49% stake in the business. By 2006,
18688-400: The same destination so that when the aircraft are close to their destination they are sequenced. As an aircraft reaches the boundary of a centre's control area, it is 'handed off' or 'handed over' to the next area control centre . In some cases, this 'hand-off' process involves a transfer of identification and details between controllers so that air traffic control services can be provided in
18834-506: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than
18980-499: The same two-letter call signs. Due to the larger number of new airlines after deregulation, the ICAO established the three-letter call signs as mentioned above. The IATA call signs are currently used in aerodromes on the announcement tables, but are no longer used in air traffic control. For example, AA is the IATA call sign for American Airlines ; the ATC equivalent is AAL. Flight numbers in regular commercial flights are designated by
19126-500: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in
19272-418: The taxiways and runways of the airport itself, and aircraft in the air near the airport, generally 5 to 10 nautical miles (9 to 19 kilometres ; 6 to 12 miles ), depending on the airport procedures. A controller must carry out the job using the precise and effective application of rules and procedures; however, they need flexible adjustments according to differing circumstances, often under time pressure. In
19418-418: The thin corridors open to airliners. The United Kingdom closes its military airspace only during military exercises. A prerequisite to safe air traffic separation is the assignment and use of distinctive call signs . These are permanently allocated by ICAO on request, usually to scheduled flights , and some air forces and other military services for military flights . There are written call signs with
19564-452: The tower on the airport and vector inbound aircraft to a position from where they can land visually. At some of these airports, the tower may provide a non-radar procedural approach service to arriving aircraft handed over from a radar unit before they are visual to land. Some units also have a dedicated approach unit, which can provide the procedural approach service either all the time, or for any periods of radar outage for any reason. In
19710-432: The tower, a highly disciplined communications process between the air control and ground control is an absolute necessity. Air control must ensure that ground control is aware of any operations that will impact the taxiways, and work with the approach radar controllers to create gaps in the arrival traffic; to allow taxiing traffic to cross runways, and to allow departing aircraft to take off. Ground control needs to keep
19856-515: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given
20002-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice
20148-561: The validity of the Oyster card contactless ticketing system to the airport. Contactless bank cards (but not Oyster cards) became valid for journeys to and from London from October 2019. A light rail / automated guided people mover , Luton DART , provides a connection between the airport terminal and the railway station. The transit was officially opened by King Charles III in December 2022. It opened to passengers on 10 March 2023 operating
20294-557: The world's ocean areas. These areas are also flight information regions (FIRs). Because there are no radar systems available for oceanic control, oceanic controllers provide ATC services using procedural control . These procedures use aircraft position reports, time, altitude, distance, and speed, to ensure separation. Controllers record information on flight progress strips , and in specially developed oceanic computer systems, as aircraft report positions. This process requires that aircraft be separated by greater distances, which reduces
20440-496: The written 'BAW832'. This is used to reduce the chance of confusion between ATC and the aircraft. By default, the call sign for any other flight is the registration number (or tail number in US parlance) of the aircraft, such as 'N12345', 'C-GABC', or 'EC-IZD'. The short radio-telephony call signs for these tail numbers is the last three letters using the NATO phonetic alphabet (e.g. ABC, spoken alpha-bravo-charlie for C-GABC), or
20586-408: Was appointed to turn around the business, stem the losses, and improve passenger numbers. Over the following five years, £30 million was invested in Luton's infrastructure and facilities. Originally, the airport's runways had been grass tracks 18/36 and 06/24, and then a concrete runway 08/26. By the end of the 1980s, there was only one runway, 08/26. The 18/36 grass runway had disappeared under
20732-507: Was created in 1922, after World War I, when the U.S. Post Office began using techniques developed by the U.S. Army to direct and track the movements of reconnaissance aircraft . Over time, the AMRS morphed into flight service stations . Today's flight service stations do not issue control instructions, but provide pilots with many other flight related informational services. They do relay control instructions from ATC in areas where flight service
20878-702: Was followed by other countries. In 1960, Britain, France, Germany, and the Benelux countries set up Eurocontrol , intending to merge their airspaces. The first and only attempt to pool controllers between countries is the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC), founded in 1972 by Eurocontrol, and covering Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and north-western Germany. In 2001, the European Union (EU) aimed to create
21024-585: Was in Prospect House, on the grounds of the airport. The following airlines operate regular scheduled and cargo flights to and from London–Luton: The airport lies a few miles away from the M1 motorway , which runs southwards to the M25 motorway and London, and northwards to Milton Keynes , the Midlands and the north of England . The airport is linked to M1's Junction 10 by the dual-carriageway A1081 road. There
21170-409: Was opened on the site on 16 July 1938. During the Second World War , the airport was used by fighters of the Royal Air Force . Commercial activity and general aviation flight training at Luton resumed during 1952. By the 1960s, Luton Airport was playing a key role in the development of the package holiday business; by 1969, a fifth of all holiday flights from the UK departed from Luton Airport. From
21316-415: Was the first airport in the world to introduce air traffic control. The 'aerodrome control tower' was a wooden hut 15 feet (5 metres) high with windows on all four sides. It was commissioned on 25 February 1920, and provided basic traffic, weather, and location information to pilots. In the United States, air traffic control developed three divisions. The first of several air mail radio stations (AMRS)
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