The ATS unit providing service for an airspace is not part of the minimum AIP data set but required in ENR 2.1 ENR 2.1 FIR, UIR, TMA AND CTA:
2) identification of unit providing the service;
3) call sign of aeronautical station serving the unit and language(s) used, specifying the area and conditions, when and where to be used, if applicable;
4) frequencies, and if applicable SATVOICE number, supplemented by indications for specific purposes
and AD 2.17 / Ad 3.16 Air traffic services airspace
4) call sign and language(s) of the ATS unit providing service;
Thus, it is considered conditional data.
AIXM 5 does not provide a direct relationship between the Airspace and Unit feature. A Service is provided by a Unit. The Service of a certain type can then be related to an Airspace.
Service is an abstract feature which is specialised into the following classes:
- AirTrafficManagementService
A kind of service that provides flight planning and flow management operations. - SearchRescueService
The performance of distress monitoring, communication, coordination and search and rescue functions, initial medical assistance or medical evacuation, through the use of public and private resources, including cooperating aircraft, vessels and other craft and installations. - InformationService
A kind of service that consists in the provision of aeronautical, meteorological, traffic and related information to aircraft crew and other actors involved in flight operations, in flight or on the ground. - AirTrafficControlService
A kind of service that provides control and separation services to aircraft in the air.
Although the AIXM model allows it, AirTrafficManagementService shall not be used as ATS Unit providing service for airspace, as it is not an ATS unit.
The Unit providing the Service carries a name attribute that shall be used for the identification.
For certain specialisations of services, a relationship to the concerned AirportHeliport can be defined. This is applicable for AD 2.17 Air traffic services airspaces.
The CallSignDetail class is used to provide information about the operational identifier, by which the provider of the service is called, i.e. the callSign and the language used.
For the language, the ISO 639-2 shall be used. Note that in AIXM the language code is restricted to lower case and 3 characters.
The frequencies on which the Service is provided is encoded by using the RadioCommunicationChannel.frequencyTransmission attribute and if applicable also the RadioCommunicationChannel.frequencyReception attribute (see also Radio Communication Channel [RCC]).
The RadioCommunicationChannel.rank attribute can be used indicating the specific purposes of the communication channel, in terms of primary, alternate, emergency, etc.
AIXM 5.1(.1) issue
The SATVOICE number is not covered by AIXM 5.1(.1). A change request exists for AIXM 5.2. In the meantime the only possibility to code that information is to provide a Note on the RadioCommunicationChannel class.
Open Question
AIXM 5.1(.1) issue
How can i identify that a particular RadioCommunicationChannel is related to a particular, CallSignDetail (except using a Note), see example
For hours of service of the ATS Unit and its provided service see Schedules for Airspace.
Coding Rules
| Identifier | Data Encoding Rule | Justification | Data Verification Rule (UID) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SER-701 | If a Service has a clientAirspace that is an ATS airspace or a special activity airspace the Unit.name of the related to the Service shall be provided. | PANS AIM | TBD | |
| SER-702 | If a Service has a clientAirspace that is an ATS airspace or an special activity airspace the Service.type shall be provided. | Data consistency | TBD | |
| SER-703 | If a Service has a clientAirspace that is an ATS airspace or an special activity airspace the Service.call-sign shall be provided. | Data consistency | TBD | |
| SER-704 | If a Service has a clientAirspace that is an AD 2.17/AD 3.17 airspace the Unit.airportLocation of the unit providing the service should be provided. | Data consistency | TBD | |
| SER-705 | If a CallSignDetail.callSign is provided, also a CallSignDetail.language shall be provided. | Data consistency | TBD | |
| SER-706 | For the provision of the CallSignDetail.language Language codes - ISO 639 shall be used. | Data harmonisation | TBD | Open Question Call Sign language Shall a specific ISO 639 be recommended (2 letter, 3 letter ?)? |
| SER-707 | AirTrafficManagementService shall not be used as Service in case the clientAirspace is an ATS airspace or a special activity airspace. | Data harmonisation | TBD | |
| RCC-101 | RadioCommunicationChannel.frequencyTransmission and RadioCommunicationChannel.frequencyReception shall be encoded in case of two-way radio communication is provided. | Data harmonisation | TBD |
Coding Examples
The figure below shows an ATS Unit providing a Tower service within an airspace by using the DONLON CTR as example.
Coding examples can be found in the DONLON AIXM 5.1.1 AIP data set file.
| No. | Description | XPath Expression |
|---|---|---|
| ATC-EX-01 | AMSWELL Control providing service for AMSWELL FIR | //aixm:AirspaceTimeSlice[@gml:id='ATC_AMSWELL_ACC'] |