SATCO

Going through the list of EGTT Sectors with the current 'five group' config of CENTRAL, EAST, WEST, NORTH and CHANNEL there seems to be a couple of missing sectors. I'd just like to check a couple of them with learned colleagues if I may. Sector 29 doesn't figure but confirm this is a PC upper sector, Lakes High? (Used to be sectors 3, 4 and 29 for Wirral/Lakes if I recall correctly.) Also, sector 33 has gone, but this was once part of North Sea (along with sectors 10 and 11.) And two I can't find at all are sectors 30 and 31... any ideas!? Most grateful.

Janet Spongthrush

Sector 29 was the Mancunian equivalent of London Middle sector (25/26) and ended up at Prestwick ACC.

I've dusted off my New EnRoute Centre (NERC) Outline Operational Plan (OOP) from 1991 and this is how we visualised the sectors then




So in 1991, the sector design had Sector 30 as a north/south easterly sector over Manchester with Sector 29 as the westerly. And sector 31 as a low level Wirral sector under sector 7.

The 'live' NATS operation subsequently redesigned North Sea and Lakes/Wirral and to help with the transition to Swanwick (staffing) as well as providing more capacity/less delay, as much airspace as was possible was transferred from Area to Terminal at West Drayton, Manchester and Scottish. Looking back, getting Swanwick from a concept to operational reality 10 years on from hand-drawn sector ideas seems a minor miracle given the scale of the change (new site, new operating procedures, simulating and training the new airspace, new equipment etc).

ZOOKER

SATCO, Sector 29 was part of the POL/BTN/IRISH SEA Sector that was transferred to Manchester Sub-Centre, and, as Janet says, later moved to EGPX in Jan 2010. The date of the move up to EGCC is up in my loft somewhere, but was in the late 1990s, I think? The vertical limits were, and still are FL195-FL285. The Manchester Sub-Centre was re-named 'Manchester Area Control Centre' around that time.

There is a useful AIP Supplement dated 2018 here, showing all the current sector data.

http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadba...2018-02-15.pdf

SATCO

Thanks for the replies; I'm very used to the old sectorisation from my days at LATCC and LATCC Mil but the new config misses the four that I was looking for. Your responses are very helpful; many thanks for taking the time to 'dust off' the maps... and the brains!

zonoma

I'm not sure if you are after current sectors or not as those maps are now incorrect. I'm not sure 30, 31 or 33 ever existed, S32 & 34 are above S27 & 28, S24 is actually now S01 north (divide line approx PEPIS to OCK) and the S24 on the map is actually S5, S35 and S36 are the high level Westend sectors, S22 is a Channel sector, S19 was split in two. So basically West is 7 sectors, North is 7 sectors, East is 6 sectors, Central is 5 sectors and Channel is 8 sectors, although S21 cannot be ever split out on it's own anymore, it has to be with either S20 or S22.

BwatchGRUNT

Sector 32 does not sit above 27, they share the same volume of airspace. Roughly FL195 - 660 but there are stepped bases towards the LTMA. S34 does sit over S28. S28 FL195 - 305 S34 FL305 - 660

S33 used to be a North Sea sector but this moved to Scottish and I guess forms the Montrose sector?

Janet Spongthrush

250 kts

S29 transferred in 2000.

ZOOKER

Knots, great hear from you. Many thanks for that. I do regret not keeping a diary of all the changes, as lots of things happened around that time. It was the only area sector I didn't do, as I was still valid on Manch' Approach at the time. I had planned to have a go up at EGPX, but management had other ideas. Hope you're keeping well?

HEATHROW DIRECTOR

They're probably bandboxed to get the EGs away!!