ATC BRIEFING

ZÜRICH RFE 2018

Introduction The aim of this ATC briefing for the ZURICH RFE is to inform ATC about all details of a live

control group conditions. To be able to achieve a good traffic flow, we count on your full

cooperation and coordination. If you have any questions about this briefing, problems,

suggestions or requests, don’t hesitate to send a mail to ch-aoc@ivao.aero, ch-aoac@ivao.ch.

Problems? During the entire event, some people will be available to act as supervisors or just to help you

with any issue. For any question just raise your hand and somebody will help you. For practical

or technical problems, anyone available is invited to help. In case of an issue requiring a

supervisor, just raise your hand and call the event coordinator or his assistant.

In case of an urgent problem, ask your assistant or somebody else to call a staff member. You

don’t need to wallop during the event.

The most important thing is to stay calm and not to panic. If you are becoming busy, ask an

available person to replace you for the time you need. More information will follow in this briefing.

List of coordinators for the event:

Julien Chabbey (Event Coordinator)

Raphael Joumblat (Division Director)

Marco Pache (ATC Operations Coordinator)

Dominic Näf (ATC Operations Assistant Coordinator, Flightops Coordinator)

General Informations Radio Communication

Use of “BREAK BREAK” is recommended

You have the priority of decision over any pilot, except emergencies.

Keep your communications as clear and as short as possible.

As a controller, you control the traffic as you need it.

Controllers

Listen well to transmissions from pilots, any “Please repeat/say again” will last in a delay of

instructions.

Be sure to know your position and phraseology.

Do we speak german in Zurich?

English is the only language used in the whole Zurich FIR. An exception is made for the Arrival

position covering Friedrichshafen (EDNY), where German can be used for VFR traffic, when

both controller and pilot are able to use it properly.

ATC Facilities

Callsign Frequency Name Responsability

LSZH_DEL 121.925 Zurich Delivery All clearance delivery (North and South)

LSZH_AS_GND 121.750 Zurich Apron Ground movement on the south apron

LSZH_AN_GND 121.850 Zurich Apron Ground movement on the north apron

LSZH_GND 121.900 Zurich Ground Runway crossings

LSZH_TWR 118.100 Zurich Tower

LSZH_2_TWR 120.225 Zurich Tower Opened until 12z. Manages ILS 14 arrivals.

LSZH_DEP 125.950 Zurich Departure

LSZH_W_APP 118.000 Zurich Arrival Arrivals via GIPOL

LSZH_E_APP 135.225 Zurich Arrival Arrivals via AMIKI

LSZH_A_APP 119.925 Zurich Arrival Traffic at LSZR and EDNY

LSZH_F_APP 125.325 Zurich Final

LSAZ_S_CTR 128.050 Swiss Radar Lower Sector (SFC – FL240), west of LSZH

LSAZ_M1_CTR 133.050 Swiss Radar Upper Sector (FL250 – UNL)

LSAZ_N_CTR 136.150 Swiss Radar Lower Sector (SFC – FL240), east of LSZH

LSZR_TWR 135.425 St. Gallen Tower

ATIS

The ATIS must be prepared based on the standard as published on IVAO Switzerland division’s website at the link: http://www.ivao.ch/controller/atis Runways configuration is dictated by Zurich Tower controller.

It should always include the station name that is Zurich Tower.

METAR Station is LSZH.

Take-off is 28 SEC 16. It is pilots’ job to report if unable with the current runway in use,

not ATC’s. Thus, any reference to report unable to a specific runway is not correct.

Landing is 14 ILS. Always include the available approach procedure. In case of

inactive ILS this will read 14 RNAV.

Transition Level is based on QNH and reported as FL 70 (i.e. without the first zero).

Transition Altitude is always 7000 ft.

Remarks to be left empty unless relevant information regarding the airport and its

safety are required. When Datalink clearance is active (suggested) it should be

reported as DATALINK ACTV.

Runways

Runway Heading Dimension Elevation Surface

10 094° 8202 ft X 197 ft

2500 m X 60 m

1391 ft Concrete

14 135° 10827 ft X 197 ft TKOF 2700m LDG

3300m X 60 m

1405 ft Concrete

16 153° 12139 ft X 197 ft

3700 m X 60 m

1390 ft Concrete

28 274° 8202 ft X 197 ft

2500 m X 30 m

1416 ft Concrete

32 315° 10827 ft X 197 ft

3300 m X 60 m

1402 ft Concrete

34 333° 12139 ft X 197 ft TKOF 3700m LDG

3270m X 60 m

1385 ft Concrete

Navigation Facilities Name ID Frequency Course

Kloten VOR KLO 114.85

Trasadingen VOR TRA 114.3

Willisau VOR WIL 116.9

Zurich East VOR ZUE 110.05

ILS 14 IKL 111.75 135°

ILS 16 IZH 110.5 153°

ILS 28 IZW 109.75 274°

ILS 34 IZS 110.75 333°

Holdings (max speed: 230 kts IAS)

Name Inbound Course Turn direction Lower limit

AMIKI 275° right 7000 ft

BERSU 051° right FL100

GIPOL 078° right 7000 ft

MOSIT 353° right FL140

RAVED 267° right FL120

RILAX 190° left 7000 ft

URNAS 348° right FL140

ATC Facilities and their duties

DELIVERY

Callsign Frequency Station Name

LSZH_DEL 121.925 Zurich Delivery

Zurich Delivery is responsible for clearance delivery on the whole airfield.

Pilots contact Zurich Delivery spontaneously. This is the first ATC they are in contact with. Delivery

hands off all the traffic to Apron (LSZH_AS_GND, LSZH_AN_GND) as soon as the aircraft has

its IFR clearance.

Do not issue a clearance earlier than 10 minutes prior to EOBT/ETD, advise the pilot to call

later.

LSZH_DEL SWISS255K, clearance is not yet available, call earliest 10 minutes before your

slot time.

Phraseology Examples

Below some basic phraseology essential to the Delivery position.

Mention the initial climb level 5000FT (pilots might not know and climb through the level)

SWR69KC Zurich Delivery hello, SWISS69KC, Airbus 320 at Gate 3 with Info Kilo, request IFR

clearance to Zürich

LSZH_DEL SWISS69KC, Zurich Delivery good day, (Kilo is current); to Geneva runway 28,

VEBIT 3W departure, squawk 4201

SWR69KC SWISS69KC cleared to Geneva out of runway 28, VEBIT 3W departure,

squawk 4201

LSZH_DEL SWISS69KC readback correct

SWR69KC SWISS69 KC, ready to push and start

LSZH_DEL SWISS69 KC, monitor* Apron on 121.850, bye

SWR196 Zurich Delivery good day, SWISS169, Boeing 777 at Gate A42 with Info Bravo,

request IFR to Beijing

LSZH_DEL SWISS169, Zurich Delivery good day, (Check information Bravo); to Beijing runway

28, DEGES 2W departure, squawk 5711

SWR196 SWISS169 is cleared to Beijing, runway 28, DIPIR 5A departure, squawk 5711

LSZH_DEL SWISS169, readback correct

SWR196 SWISS169, ready to push and start

LSZH_DEL SWISS169, monitor* Apron on 121.750, bye

*Please note: monitor is different from contact. It means standby on the frequency.

Flightplan Integrity

This is the most important and somehow complex task for a delivery controller. In real life Flight

Plans are checked by European and Swiss planning offices who together, accept or deny a flight

plan based on route, aircraft, requested flight level and time of the day.

On the IVAO simulation the traffic flow less complex so there is less stringent rules in order to

accept a flight plan; however the check is performed by Delivery instead of a dedicated office.

Having the latest Handysheet is a good help!

There are 4 items to be checked all the times (FDDR):

1. Flight rule IFR should have I IFR-to-VFR should have Y

2. Departing aerodrome

Check LSZH is correctly spelled

3. Departure time

Check LSZH is correctly spelled

4. Route The first fix of the route must be a valid SID point. In addition the available SID to the fix should be consistent with the equipment of the aircraft: NON-RNAV plane cannot fly a RNAV SID.

Squawk

All Squawk codes are already assigned. In case the code is not yet assigned,

the below stated squawks can be assigned. 1000 : LS, LF, ED, EG, EI, EB, EL, EH and LE.

30xx : Other

Coordination with Tower

Tower is responsible to manage arrivals and departure flow. In case of a busy sequence, the

tower can ask to delay the next clearances.

APRON

Callsign Frequency Station Name

LSZH_AS_GND 121.750 Zurich Apron

LSZH_AN_GND 121.850 Zurich Apron

LSZH_GND 121.900 Zurich Ground

Traffic is under your responsibility for pushback and taxi operations.

Remember that traffic is monitoring your frequency, you have to call the pilots!

Depending of the tower intentions, you may be asked to delay the pushback clearance. Otherwise

be careful on prioritizing traffic depending of their departure time.

Hand-off traffic to tower by advising “Monitor Tower 118.100”.

You will be assisted to assign the correct gates. (C.f. also non-scheduled flights)

Regarding voice frequency management, the priority must be given to aircrafts

vacating the runway; better delay a clearance than leaving an aircraft on the runway.

LSZH_AN_GND may be opened if AS_GND is already online. LSZH_GND requires

AS_GND, AN_GND and TWR to be online.

Zurich Apron is responsible for all ground movement operations and gate assignments

with the following areas of responsibility:

* LSZH_AS_GND: Apron south of RWY28, W stands

* LSZH_AN_GND: Apron north of RWY28

* LSZH_GND: Runway crossings

Pushback Facings

Generally, pushback facings in LSZH are given in cardinal directions depending on

where the Runway in use is located. For the Docks A, B and E mostly the following

directions are given:

RWYs 10, 16 and 34:

Facing west

RWYs 28 and 34:

Facing east

Between docks A and B no facings are needed, since there is only one direction to

push.

The Stands located at D, I and H parking do not require pushback; aircrafts can taxi

straight out on the taxiway.

Preferred Taxiways

The Apron controller is free to establish his own taxi-routings to manage the traffic

flow.

However, there are some recommended routings:

Departure RWY 28:

Aircrafts originating from the South Apron (Docks A, B and Parkings C, D, T and W)

shall be routed via INNER and A to the holding point. If an aircraft is pushing back on

INNER, A can be used completely.

Crossing of RWY 28:

Aircrafts crossing RWY 28 from South to North shall use taxiway E, crossings from

North to South should happen on taxiway F.

If Runway 14 is used for Arrivals, taxiways J and K are used from North to South. If

Runway 32 is used for Departures, the taxiways are used from South to North.

Southbound taxi after vacating RWY 14:

If a gate/stand on the South Apron is assigned, aircrafts are normally routed via J. If a

pilot missed the right turn, he shall continue on H and take the next right on K.

Taxiway restrictions

Taxiways A and B between K and THR 28: MAX wingspan 36m/118ft during ARR ILS

28

Taxiway F: between N and M: MAX wingspan 36m/118ft

Taxiway P: MAX wingspan 36m/118ft

Taxiway Y: MAX wingspan 28m/92ft

Taxiway Z: outer main gear MAX 6m/20ft, MAX wingspan 30m/98ft

Handoff Departing traffic should be transferred while taxiing before arriving at the holding point:

Unless instructed otherwise, all traffic crossing the Runways have to be transferred

to the Tower.

RWY 10 As the TWR is responsible for Taxiways L and the part of B west of RWY 16/34, he will keep Aircrafts after crossing

RWY 16 When passing De-Icing Pad F

RWY 28 shortly after crossing taxiway K

RWY 32 When passing De-Icing Pad C

RWY 34 After passing E8 (or E7 when E8 is used)

Departing Traffic have to be transferred on monitor, unless instructed differentially!

Example: “SWR1010, monitor Tower: 118.100

Monitor means: After switching the frequency, the pilot prevents from communicating

with the ATC. The controller is the one to contact the pilot for further actions.

TOWER

Remember that traffic is monitoring your frequency, you have to call the pilots!

To improve the traffic flow you are allowed to give rolling take-off. Be sure to respect this table

about turbulences minimas :

Wind Round wind direction up or down to the next full 10°:

146° = 150°

356° = 360° (or North)

355° = 350°

Phraseology example: Departure handoff

LSZH_TWR SWISS131R, contact departure, goodbye

The frequency is not mentioned, as it is written down on the SID description.

Callsign Frequency Station Name

LSZH_TWR 118.100 Zurich Tower

Zurich Tower takes the usual responsibility of a Tower controller with full control of the

Zurich and Dübendorf CTR (VFR traffic) and runway movements.

VFR

The assigned transponder code will be 7001 and following.

The entry and exit routes are Echo, Sierra and Whiskey.

Touch-and-Go’s are strictly prohibited during the RFE!

Coordinated Separation

In case of high traffic load Tower may request speed reduction towards 180kts /

160kts or final approach speed either to make sure preceding aircraft will have time to

vacate on time or to create space to put a departing traffic in the between.

Departing traffic must be separated according to standard wake turbulence

separation minima.

Handoff

As soon as airborne, transfer the traffic to departure, to be able to call in at 2000ft-

3000ft

Departure

Callsign Frequency Station Name

LSZH_DEP 125.950 Zurich Departure

Zurich Departure is responsible for all IFR traffic outbound Zurich.

The controller identifies the aircraft, and gives a clearance to FL120, or the highest

available Level based on current traffic situation if climbing straight to FL120 is

blocked.

The controller is in constant coordination with Arrival controller/s.

Shortcuts

All changes to route and SID that will end in a different sector (Swiss Radar) must be

coordinated, always, with the ATC that will receive the traffic next and it will be

affected by the shortcut provided.

• All SIDs: If traffic allows and if Swiss Radar release the traffic for the direct

(i.e. Swiss Radar is ok with the decision): when passing 5,000 ft direct to

specific ending FIX of the SID.

• GERSA: Although the GERSA departure is inactive, a direct can be

arranged with Swiss Radar, when passing BREGO (minimum at 5,000ft) on

the VEBIT SID. Further climbs, according to the published minima have to

be arranged previously.

Silent handoff

Traffic is transferred to Swiss Radar between FL100 and FL120 (sector limit) without

any conflict, to allow a continuous climb. Normal jets may have a rate of climb of 4,000

ft or more, hence plan the handover accordingly.

Arrival

Callsign Frequency Station Name

LSZH_W_APP 118.000 Zurich Arrival

LSZH_E_APP 135.225 Zurich Arrival

LSZH_A_APP 119.925 Zurich Arrival

Zurich Arrival is responsible for all IFR traffic with destination Zurich, St. Gallen and

Friedrichshafen, as well as traffic crossing Zurich TMA below FL120.

If Final sector is offline, it is in charge to direct Traffic to establishment of respective

approach procedure (most common is ILS). Once established traffic is transferred to

the respective Tower. Separation on the final sequence is Arrival’s duty as such the

transfer will be acted only in separation condition satisfied.

If Final sector is online, it is in charge to direct Traffic to downwind or base leg. Arrival

will transfer traffic to Final at IAF altitude with a maximum speed of 180kts IAS.

Separation

Inside Zurich TMA the radar separation minima are reduced from 5 NM to 3 NM.

Vertical separation is unchanged.

This reduced minimum can be applied provided that:

• the average runway occupancy time of landing aircraft is proven, by means

such as data collection and statistical analysis and methods based on a

theoretical model, not to exceed 50 seconds

• braking action is reported as good and runway occupancy times are not

adversely affected by runway contaminants such as slush, snow or ice;

• a radar system with appropriate azimuth and range resolution and an

update rate of 5 seconds or less is used in combination with suitable radar

displays; and

• the aerodrome controller is able to observe, visually or by means of surface

movement radar (SMR) or a surface movement guidance and control

system (SMGCS), the runway-in-use and associated exit and entry

taxiways;

• wake turbulence radar separation minima as per ICAO Doc 4444, 7.4.4 or

as may be prescribed by the appropriate ATS authority (e.g. for specific

aircraft types), do not apply;

• aircraft approach speeds are closely monitored by the controller and when

necessary adjusted so as to ensure that separation is not reduced below

the minimum;

• aircraft operators and pilots have been made fully aware of the need to exit

the runway in an expeditious manner whenever the reduced separation

minimum on final approach is applied; and

• procedures concerning the application of the reduced minimum are

published in Aeronautical Information Publication.

Speed and descent management

Keep in mind that an aircraft has limited ability to slow down and descend at the same

time. Be always focused on distance from approach and aircraft altitude to plan a

continuous descend in full safety.

In case of high traffic load the usual speeds to allow smooth flow of traffic are

minimum clean speed (minimum speed with no flaps), 180kts to maintain 8NM final

and 160kts to 5NM final.

In case of low traffic load there is no need to give speed reduction as traffic should be

able to manage its own speed. However, it may be necessary an ATC intervention in

case the traffic would be too fast to perform what it is cleared for.

When providing substantial shortcuts, please give the number of "track miles" you are

expecting the aircraft to run, so that the pilot knows what to expect, is able to plan the

descent accordingly.

Optimum approach

Runway 14 Interception should occur at OSNEM at 4,000 ft

Runway 16 Interception should occur at ENUSO at 4,000 ft

Runway 28 Interception should occur at RAMEM at 5,000 ft

Runway 34 Interception should occur at UTIXO at 6,000 ft, latest at MILNI at

5,000ft Once established, the traffic is transferred to Tower.

If condition allows, Arrival may clear aircrafts for visual approaches. A visual approach

for runway 10 may be issued only in case of an emergency.

If traffic load allows, you should give as many shortcuts as possible. A STAR should

be flown only to help you to sequence traffic.

When ILS28 or ILS34 is active, it might be useful to assign an RNAV Transition (e.g.

GIPOL28) after GIPOL to ensure further separation.

Once LSZH_F_APP is online, the Arrival controller directs Traffic to the respective

downwind or base leg of the active runway. All transfers have to be done on IAF

altitude with a maximum speed of 180 kts IAS. Unless instructed otherwise, aircrafts

being transferred to the Final controller are asked to state only the callsign on initial

call:

“Swiss 23F, contact Final: 125.325, callsign only!”

Arrival Sector Configurations

Depending on the amount of inbound Traffic, the sector can be split into three

positions.

East and West

LSZH_W_APP (118.000) is responsible for arrivals to GIPOL (BERSU, BLM, DOPIL,

HOC, URNAS, WIL), all departures and civil traffic at LSME.

LSZH_E_APP (135.225) manages arrivals to AMIKI (NEGRA, RILAX, TRA) and

LSMD, as well as arriving and departing Traffic at LSZR, EDNY.

When runway 28 is active, special coordination is required, since the approach sector

for ILS28 is completely managed by the east sector.

Arrival, Departure and Final

Depending on the active landing runway in Zürich, the areas of responsibility for the

Arrival, Departure and Final controllers, as well as the respective upper and lower

limits, vary.

Runway 14 Arrivals

Runway 28 Arrival

Runway 34 Arrivals

Radar Vectoring Example – RWY14

Preferred vectoring from RILAX

Delay vectors for separation or descent

Final

Callsign Frequency Station Name

LSZH_F_APP 125.325 Zurich Final

Final sector is opened only during high traffic loads with the facility turned on and off

according to requirements.

It receives traffic from Zurich Arrival at IAF altitude on a downwind or base leg at

maximum speed of 180kts IAS. It provides the final turn into arrival procedure, usually

ILS. Once established the traffic is transferred to Zurich Tower.

Separation on the final sequence is Final’s duty as such the transfer will be acted only

in separation condition satisfied.

Depending of the active runway, the Final controller is responsible for different sectors:

Swiss Radar

Callsign Frequency Station Name

LSAZ_S_CTR 128.050 Swiss Radar

LSAZ_M1_CTR 133.050 Swiss Radar

LSAZ_N_CTR 136.150 Swiss Radar

On the RFE, two lower radar sectors (LSAZ_S/N_CTR), responsible SFC-FL240, and

one upper sector (LSAZ_M1_CTR: FL250-UNL) will be connected to the network.

Traffic inbound LSZH are cleared for the published STARs, descending to FL130 and

transferred to the correct arrival controller. When applicable, directs can be given in

coordination with the APP controllers.

It is highly suggested to coordinate with foreign ATCs for arrival management

(according to published LOAs).

Management of non-scheduled flights

A huge ATC coverage mostly attracts pilots, who are not performing a registered RFE

flight.

Generally, scheduled flights are prioritized. If another ATC is free to assist the radar

controller and check the arriving flights, CTR has to coordinate with APP/TWR to

arrange a integration into the current traffic flow.

If holdings are assigned and the expected holding time exceeds 10 to 15 minutes, the

traffic must be diverted to his alternate or another suitable airport:

Heavy: LFSB, LSZH, EDDM or EDDS

Medium: same as above + LSZB and EDNY

Light: same as above + LSZR and LSZG

Enjoy the event!