Arrival to a controlled airport (Then goes offline)

ATC
1

Hey Yall,

I keep having this issues where I check to see what airports are currently controlled (outside of the ATC schedule), I plan my flight and as I am enroute the controlled airport goes offline. Typically I like to arrive at airports with the most traffic. Outside of the ATC schedule, is there a way or a thread to see how long each controlled airport will be online? For a quick example, this evening I saw that KEWR had 40 arrivals and had Ground, Tower, Arrival controlled. I took off from ORD and halfway through the flight the tower went offline. How can I time the arrivals better to airports being controlled?

2

I think they’re only requested to stay on for 1 hour. After that it’s on the controller decision if they want to stay longer or not.

3

If I’m honest, it’s kind of hit or miss with controlled airports outside of the schedule. As the airports on the schedule for the day are the ones typically controlled.

There isn’t necessarily a good way to time those arrivals. But with the added benefit of controllers being able to control anywhere, you do sometimes get lucky that you’ll have an open frequency.

And as stated above, depending on the airport class, controllers are required to control for a minimum of 1 hour at a B class airport and 30 mins for anything under a B class. Everything after that is on the controller if they decide to stay longer. And some do.

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4

Thanks Rick! I figured that was the case.

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5

No problem! I get the frustration though. Sometimes you just want some ATC at an airport that’s not a hub. And there is nothing wrong with that.

I’ve been on flights that when I was arriving, ATC opened unexpectedly so that’s always a nice bonus.

I don’t know if you prefer ATC while departing, arriving, or both. One thing you could do is depart from the staffed airport if you aren’t sure they will be open when you get there. Just another option. :)

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6

I personally like both but I do favor the arrival to be controlled, especially when it is busy. I enjoyed being vectored to final the most! Well as I’m typing this I see that EWR came back online with 18min to go lol.

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7

There ya go! Now you’ll for sure have it! Have fun!

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8

One thing you can do is DM the controller and ask how much longer they plan to stay open for and maybe you can convince them to stay open until you land.

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