The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System

TAAATS (pronounced "tats") is the hardware and software system used by Airservices Australia for Air Traffic Control services. It is a computer based system, which serves as an aid to Air Traffic Controllers. It does not control aircraft, but gives the user a display of information about an aircraft's position and associated information. It also handles communications and other information exchanges.

TAAATS is one of two systems in Australia, the other being the Australian Defence Air Traffic System (ADATS), which is used by the military.

The TAAATS Console

There are two stations for TAAATS in Australia, one in Brisbane and one in Melbourne. Each TAAATS control station has four computer screens:

*Air Situation Display (ASD) : This main screen is basically a map of the sector that shows the location of all aircraft in controlled airspace, as reported by one of several data sources – radar data processing, flight data processing and automatic dependent surveillance.

*Miscellaneous Information Display : A display providing access to a wide range of information including aircraft performance data, weather radar, airport/navigation aid/tracking point codes, airline ICAO designators, Standard Arrival Route (STAR) and Standard Instrument Departure (SID) "plates" and depiction of the airspace setup for TMA sectors.

*Voice Switching and Communications Select (VSCS) panel : A touch-sensitive screen allows controllers to choose the radio frequency they need to talk to pilots and ground staff, or the intercom for talking with other controllers.

*Auxiliary Display : The controller can call up a wide range of information such as weather forecasts, flight plans, strip windows, secondary maps and other material for the information of themselves and pilots.

The Old System

Under the old system, controlled airspace in Australia was divided into six flight information regions, based roughly on State boundaries. So, for example, when an aircraft flew from Perth to Sydney, the pilots would communicate with the following air traffic controllers:

*The tower in Perth gave instructions for runway taxiing and scheduling of take-off;

*A departures controller in Perth gave instructions for the climb out of Perth;

*An en route controller in Perth tracked the aircraft's progress as it headed east across the State;

*An en route controller in Adelaide tracked the aircraft as it traversed South Australia;

*An en route controller in Sydney tracked the aircraft once it entered New South Wales;

*An approach controller in Sydney gave the flight instructions for a safe approach to Kingsford Smith airport; and, finally,

*The tower at Kingsford Smith issued landing and taxiing instructions.

How TAAATS Works

The six control regions, have been split into two, with a line running basically from east to west along the center (approximately). The Northern side of the line is controlled by Brisbane, and the Southern side is controlled by Melbourne.

The operations room of both, Brisbane and Melbourne, contain 40 individual workstations, divided into groups responsible for different sectors within the flight information region. A number of safeguards have been built into the system to reduce the risk of malfunction. For example, almost all of the electronic systems have been duplicated – standby equipment is ready to switch into immediate operation if the main equipment fails.

Both Brisbane "Center" and Melbourne "Center" contain a simulator for training new air traffic controllers, but this can be converted to the other control center within 48 hours in the event of a devastating failure.

ee also

*Australian Air Traffic Control
*Australian Defence Air Traffic System
*Airservices Australia