Likewise, these same aircraft are attended by air control personnel who, depending on the phase of the flight, provide service in a specific unit, guaranteeing at all times that the aircraft maintain the safety levels that the separations between them determine.

In the following infographic we show how air traffic control services are provided, according to the phases of a flight.

Aerodrome control service: From the control tower at the departure airport, we manage the flights from the moment they start their engines: we control the movement of the aircraft on the taxiways and the takeoffs of the planes from the runways. When the aircraft have taken off, the flights are transferred to the approach control staff.

Approach control service: once the aircraft has been transferred, its ascent is controlled, through the established departure routes, until the aircraft joins the airway corresponding to its route, which is part of the route network that covers the entire airspace and connects airports. This phase of the flight is managed by the unit that provides the approach control service. Once on the airway, the aircraft is transferred to the route control team.

Area/route control service: the route control personnel, once the flights have been established on the airways, manage the aircraft during the cruise phase, until they begin their descent towards the destination airport. This is the longest phase of the flight, and depending on the route followed by the aircraft, it is controlled from the different route control centers through which the aircraft passes, transferring the flights between them according to the procedures established at the international level. .

Approach control service: the descent of aircraft to land at the destination airport, once the flight has been transferred from area/route control, is managed by approach control personnel, directing the trajectory of these flights towards the destination airport . Furthermore, at airports with more air traffic, landing sequences are organized, accommodating the trajectories and speeds of the aircraft until they reach the vicinity of the airports and are ready to begin their landing maneuver, at which time they are transferred. the flight to the control towers.

Aerodrome control service: with flights very close to the airport, and generally when the aircraft are aligned with the landing strips, the tower control personnel authorizes the landing, always ensuring that the runway is free of both other flights and any object that could affect this maneuver. Once the aircraft has left the runway, its traffic is controlled through the taxiways to the parking apron.