Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center

Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZBW) is located in Nashua, New Hampshire, United States. The Boston ARTCC is one of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States.

The primary responsibility of ZBW is the separation of overflights, and the expedited sequencing of arrivals and departures along STARs (Standard Terminal Arrival Routes) and SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures) for the Boston Metropolitan Area, the New York Metropolitan Area, and many other areas.

Boston Center is the 16th busiest Air Traffic Control Center in the United States. In 2006, Boston Center was responsible for handling 1,798,000 flights. [NATCA, Boston ARTCC - http://zbw.natca.org] The Boston ARTCC currently covers convert|165000|sqmi|km2 of airspace that includes airports in Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, New York State and Northeast Pennsylvania. [ [http://testimony.ost.dot.gov/test/pasttest/99test/Challan1.htm Statement Of Peter H ] ]

Basic Breakdown of Sectors

ZBW has a total of 30 sectors. These are broken down into Low Altitude, High Altitude, and Super High Altitude sectors, with 16 low sectors, 10 high sectors, and 1 super high sector. There are also 3 Low-High Altitude sectors which usually cover from the surface to unlimited and do not fit into any of the other sector categories. Within the Center, there are 5 Areas, which other ARTCCs often refer to as Specialties.

Area Breakdown

In ZBW, the Areas are labeled A through E.

"Area A" covers the majority of northwest New York State. Area A handles a large quantity of traffic that has departed Boston Logan International Airport or other nearby airports, as well as descends arrivals destined to New York Metropolitan airports and other airports in ZBW airspace.

"Area B" covers covers most of Vermont and New Hampshire. Area B is primarily responsible for descending Boston Logan and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport arrivals, as well as climbing departures from these airports. Area B also descends and climbs traffic to and from airports such as Albany International Airport, Burlington International Airport, and Bradley International Airport.

"Area C" covers portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Area C also covers about convert|60|mi|km of over-ocean airspace south of Long Island. Area C is responsible for descending Boston Logan arrivals, climbing Boston Logan departures, and working arrival and departure traffic to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport. Area C also climbs all northeast-bound and oceanic departures from the New York Metropolitan area. Additionally, Area C descends and climbs traffic to and from airports such as T. F. Green Airport, Long Island MacArthur Airport, and Bradley International.

"Area D" is easily the largest area in ZBW, covering almost half of the total airspace. Area D overlies the eastern portions of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and most of Maine, as well as owning airspace extending around convert|150|mi|km east of the coast. Area D is responsible for descending and climbing traffic to and from Boston Logan, Bangor International Airport,Portland International Jetport, and all Cape Cod area airports.

"Area E" covers portions of New York State and western Massachusetts. Area E is primarily responsible for working extremely heavy volumes of traffic landing and departing New York Metropolitan airports such as John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport. The New York TRACON underlies most of Area E.

ZBW is bordered by the following ARTCCs/ACCs/FIRs:
*New York ARTCC (ZNY)
*Cleveland ARTCC (ZOB)
*Washington ARTCC (ZDC)
*Montreal ACC (ZUL)
*Moncton ACC (ZQM)
*Toronto ACC (ZYZ)

Sectors and Frequencies

Boston Center Sector Maps [http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/airspace/ZBW_LTA0602.pdf]

Area A

Low Altitude Sectors

*ALB 22 (Albany 22) - 121.35
*HNK 23 (Hancock 23) - 133.25

High Altitude Sectors

*UCA 09 (Utica 09) - 123.87
*DNY 24 (Delancey 24) - 126.47

Low-High Altitude Sectors

*ART 08 (Watertown 08) - 135.25

uper High Altitude Sectors

*RKA 10 (Rockdale 10) - 124.12

Area B

Low Altitude Sectors

*GDM 36 (Gardner 36) - 123.75
*CON 37 (Concord 37) - 134.7
*MPV 52 (Montpelier 52) - 135.7

High Altitude Sectors

*ATHENS 38 (ATHENS 38) - 135.32
*CAM 39 (Cambridge 39) - 128.32
*PLB 53 (Plattsburg 53) - 118.82

Area C

Low Altitude Sectors

*SARDI 32 (SARDI 32) - 135.8
*ERICK 33 (ERICK 33) - 132.3
*PVD 34 (Providence 34) - 124.85
*BOSOX 47 (BOSOX 47) - 133.42

High Altitude Sectors

*HTO 31 (Hampton 31) - 124.52
*BOS 46 (Boston 46) - 127.82

Area D

Low Altitude Sectors

*SURRY 15 (SURRY 15) - 124.25
*PARSO 16 (PARSO 16) - 128.2

High Altitude Sectors

*MLT 01 (Millinocket 01) - 128.05
*AUG 02 (Augusta 02) - 134.95

Low-High Altitude Sectors

*ACK 17 (Nantucket 17) - 133.45
*CAPE 18 (Cape 18) - 128.75

Area E

Low Altitude Sectors

*SWF 05 (Stewart 05) - 134.3
*PWL 06 (Pawling 06) - 128.1
*CTR 07 (Chester 07) - 127.65
*DXR 19 (Danbury 19) - 134.0
*CANAN 21 (CANAN 21) - 132.65

High Altitude Sectors

*IGN 20 (Kingston 20) - 125.57

References