2016

Reykjavik
ATC Training Handbook
Introduction
Welcome to VATSIM Scandinavia and to the Reykjavik Control Area!

This is the beginning of your journey to becoming an air traffic controller, and we can’t wait to welcome you to the
team. First, however, you must complete your training. This handbook is designed to step you through the Iceland ATC
training programme, from S2 to C1. This is a big journey and it will take several months to complete. The more work
you put in, the faster we will be able to progress.

Are you ready for the challenge? Let’s begin!

THIS BIG DOCUMENT CONTAINS PDF BOOKMARKS TO GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR SECTION.

Reykjavik ATC Training Handbook 0

Introduction 1
Starting Off 2
The Programme 2
Resources 3
S2 – Tower/Aerodrome Control 4
Reykjavik CTA Introduction 5
Reykjavik Airport (BIRK) 6
Akureyri Airport (BIAR) 10
Vágar Airport (EKVG) 12
Greenland Towers & AFIS 15
Keflavik International Airport (BIKF) 16
S3 – Approach/Departure Control 20
Airspace (BIKF/BIRK/BGSF) 21
Departures 22
Arrivals 23
Controlling Multiple Airports & Heavy Traffic 26
C1 – Area Control 28
Reykjavik CTA Reminder 29
Area Control 29
Oceanic Clearances 30
Søndrestrøm Information 31
Controlling Heavy Traffic 31
BICC – Iceland Radio Special Endorsement 33

1
Starting Off
This handbook is not designed to explain absolutely everything. ATC training does not mean that we ‘spoon-feed’ you
all the information. Some things you just have to work out yourself.

Therefore, we assume that you are familiar with the VATSIM Scandinavia website and the Training Administration
System (TAS). We also assume that you have downloaded EuroScope, installed the Iceland Controller Pack and logged
on as an observer to see how it works. We assume you have consulted relevant guides, help pages and wikis to discover
the finer details of how EuroScope works. We also assume that you have a basic understanding of air traffic control,
either from your experience as a VATSIM pilot, or from other reading elsewhere.

If you do not understand anything in the previous paragraph, please go back and try to find out yourself. Google is a
useful tool to find information, and the VATSIM Scandinavia website is packed with links. Treat this as your first
challenge 

The Programme
As you should know, there are four main ratings used by ATC in VATSIM Scandinavia. These are:

 S1 (Student)
o Used by students in training for S2
 S2 (Student)
o Enables the holder to control TWR positions
 S3 (Senior Student)
o Enables the holder to control APP positions
 C1 (Controller)
o Enables the holder to control CTR and FSS positions

Our training programme consists of an initial theory test to grant the S1, followed by practical training both online and
on a special server called Sweatbox (where the mentor can ‘create’ fake traffic), followed by an online exam. You must
do this for each rating thereafter. The expected time taken to complete a rating in Iceland is 6-10 weeks, assuming
that you have one, 2-hour session a week with a mentor and that you keep up with your studying between sessions.
So the time required from a complete beginner to C1 is at least 18-30 weeks.

2
Resources
The primary resource for basic ATC procedure is the VATEUD ATC Training Manual. You can find this on the VATEUD
website, under Training > ATC Training. We have not provided a direct link in case it changes, and also because it is
good for you as a student to start searching through websites. This will be a valuable skill, especially when it comes to
learning about new airports or new airspaces.

The primary resource for local procedures are the Guides to Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. You can find
these on the Reykjavik Pilot Page on the VATSIM Scandinavia website, under Pilots > Airports > Iceland. The guides are
written for both pilots and ATC, so if you ever have pilots who don’t understand local procedures, or are new to the
area, point them in this direction.

There are also a number of other resources available to controllers.

Under ATC > General Procedures > Iceland, you will find Vinur flugumferðarstjóra (Cheat Sheet). This is a useful
summary sheet of ATC procedures across the entire Reykjavik CTA, which you can print out as a double-sided A4 page.
It contains template clearances, airport information and ATC frequencies.

Under Pilots > Airports > Iceland, you will find the Sector Map. This is a very helpful overview of the Reykjavik CTA, its
major airports and area positions.

Under Training Department > Common training documents, you will find a METAR Decoding Guide that will help with
your metar decoding, especially when learning about AFIS. You will also find a nice Euroscope startup guide for
Sweatbox sessions.

Under Pilots > Charts, you will of course find charts for all Scandinavian countries. Searching through charts and
understanding them is an important ATC skill. We encourage you to explore the charts websites and try to find out as
much about them as you can. Do note that most websites are bilingual.

3
S2 – Tower/Aerodrome Control
Congratulations! If you are reading this you must have passed your S1 theory test and be preparing for the practical
training component. Here is an overview of what you will cover:

 Reykjavik Control Area (CTA) – 30 mins to 1 hour

o Overview of the Reykjavik CTA, sectorisation and neighbouring sectors
o Tour of the major airports of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
o EuroScope setup
 Reykjavik Airport (BIRK) – 3 to 4 hours
o Ground layout and parking
o Pushback and taxi instructions
o Domestic IFR clearances with SIDs
o IFR arrivals
o VFR zone departures and arrivals
o VFR circuits
 Akureyri Airport (BIAR) – 2 hours
o Ground layout
o Taxi and backtrack instructions
o Domestic IFR clearances with SIDs
o IFR arrivals
o VFR zone departures and arrivals
o Procedural tower position providing approach control service
 Vágar Airport (EKVG) – 1.5 hours
o Ground layout & parking
o Aerodrome flight information service
o Coordination with higher control for IFR clearance
 Greenland Theory Session – 30 minutes
o BGSF ground layout and clearances
o BGGH, BGBW, BGTL, BGKK clearances and AFIS approach
 Keflavik International Airport (BIKF) – At least 4 hours + online practice
o Ground layout, terminal and parking
o Pushback and taxi instructions
o International oceanic IFR clearances
o IFR combined with VFR traffic
o Heavy traffic scenario
 Solo endorsement – control BIKF_TWR online without a mentor
 S2 Checkout on BIKF_TWR – 1.5 hours

4
Reykjavik CTA Introduction
 The Reykjavik CTA consists of two Flight Information Regions (FIRs): Reykjavik FIR of Iceland/Faroes and
Søndrestrøm FIR of Greenland. Look at the Sector Map for the big picture.
o In Greenland, below FL195, Søndrestrøm Information (BGGL_FSS) provides a procedural information
service over the whole of the Søndrestrøm FIR. Procedural means they have no radar, so they rely on
position reports. BGGL_FSS also covers all Greenlandic airports top down and provides a radar
control service at BGSF, which is the only airport in Greenland with radar.
o Other than the above paragraph, we basically ignore the FIRs. Instead, we treat the CTA as a single
block of airspace, which is then split into four sectors.
 North Sector = Iceland Radio (BICC_FSS). This is a procedural position above FL195 (because
BGGL_FSS is below FL195) that relies on position reports. It is also a unique position in that it
provides departing oceanic clearances for all of Greenland by coordination with local
ATC/AFIS/FSS, including the parts of Greenland outside the North Sector. It also provides
departing oceanic clearances for Iceland and the Faroe Islands when local ATC is not online.
Finally, it also provides all inbound oceanic clearances to the entire CTA.
 West Sector = Reykjavik Control West (BIRD_W_CTR). This is a radar position controlling in
central Greenland above FL195. It does not control top down, but it does provide oceanic
clearances for traffic at central Greenland’s airports if BICC_FSS is not online.
 South Sector = Reykjavik Control South (BIRD_S_CTR). This is a radar position covering
Iceland top down, all airports.
 East Sector = Reykjavik Control East (BIRD_E_CTR). This is a radar position covering the Faroe
Islands top down and part of the North Sea.
o Under normal conditions, Reykjavik Control (BIRD_CTR) will cover the South, East and West Sectors
together at the same time.
 Oceanic clearances are required whenever traffic enters the Reykjavik CTA, including if they are departing
from an airport within the CTA.
o Departing clearances can be issued by BIKF_DEL, BIRK_GND and BIAR_TWR (or whoever is covering
them top down).
o All other Iceland/Faroe Islands airports take departing clearances from their local controller, who
requests it from BIRD_CTR.
o All Greenland airports take departing clearances from their local controller, who requests it from
BICC_FSS first, then if not online, BIRD_CTR for central Greenland and CZQX_FSS (Gander Radio) for
southern Greenland.
 BGGL_FSS cannot authorise oceanic clearances on its own.
o The standard format for all clearances is laid out in the Vinur flugumferðarstjóra (Cheat Sheet).
 Tour of the Airports: Iceland.
o Keflavik International Airport (BIKF) is the largest airport in the Reykjavik CTA and handles all
international traffic to Iceland, as well as some regional traffic to Greenland. There are no domestic
scheduled flights to Keflavik, although on VATSIM some people still like to do so…
o Reykjavik Airport (BIRK) handles all domestic traffic to the capital, and most regional flights to
Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Note that ‘regional’ is still international and so all regional flights
need an oceanic clearance. It is covered top down by BIKF_APP when BIRK_APP is offline. People can
easily confuse Reykjavik and Keflavik, so make sure you tell that Boeing 747 that he might have some
trouble taking off  The maximum aircraft size at BIRK is the B757-200.
o Akureyri Airport (BIAR) is in northern Iceland, handling mainly domestic flights to Reykjavik. There
are also some flights to BGCO in Greenland. BIAR_TWR is a procedural tower that provides an
approach service.
5
 o Ísafjörður Airport (BIIS) is the main airport in the Westfjords.
o Egilsstaðir Airport (BIEG) is the main airport of eastern Iceland.
o Vestmannæyjar Airport (BIVM) is the airport on the Westman Islands.
 Tour of the Airports: Faroe Islands.
o Vágar Airport (EKVG) is the only airport in the Faroe Islands. It serves international traffic and
domestic helicopter flights. All international flights require an oceanic clearance, which is obtained
from EKVG_I_TWR, who coordinates with BIRD_E_CTR.
 Tour of the Airports: Greenland.
o Søndre Strømfjord Kangerlussuaq Airport (BGSF) is the main hub and largest airport of Greenland. It
has radar coverage and can take heavy aircraft as well. It is also Greenland’s only controlled airport
with a tower and full approach service.
o Narsarsuaq Airport (BGBW) is Greenland’s second airport able to take heavies.
o Nuuk Airport (BGGH) is the small airport that serves Greenland’s capital city. It only takes light to
medium aircraft and most international flights will land at BGSF and then transfer by light/medium
aircraft to BGGH (and vice versa).
o Thule Airport (BGTL) is a US Air Force base in northern Greenland. Because no-one at VATSIM
Scandinavia is aware of US military procedures, we treat it as an AFIS airport.
o Kulusuk Airport (BGKK) is the main airport in eastern Greenland and is often used as a stopover
between western Greenland and Iceland.

Reykjavik Airport (BIRK)

 This is where you will begin your ATC career. Reykjavik is the domestic and regional hub of Iceland. Please
read the BIRK section in the Guide to Iceland first before beginning this stage of training.
 EuroScope
o Your mentor will go over the finer points of EuroScope with you, including how to use the departure
list, sector exit list, sector inbound list, controller list, voice room list, metar list and aircraft tags. If
you read over the EuroScope manual available on the official EuroScope website, then we can skip
this explaining 
o The visibility range for TWR is 50nm.
 General phraseology
o You must know the phonetic alphabet fluently.
o You must say your callsign after the pilot’s callsign on first contact e.g. “Scandinavian 123, Reykjavik
Tower, hello…”
 THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Lots of students forget to say their own callsign on first contact,
you must do this.
o Traffic information is given as [AIRLINE] [AIRCRAFT TYPE] e.g. Icelandair Boeing 757.
 Ground layout
o As detailed in the Guide to Iceland, the North Apron is for scheduled flights and the East Apron is for
everything else. There are no stands/gates specified, you just say “Taxi to parking on the North
Apron via…”
o All taxi instructions must include the relevant runway crossings at the end e.g. “Taxi to holding point
runway 19 via E and A, crossing runways 19 and 24 approved.”
 You may need to backtrack the runway (taxi backwards on the runway to have maximum
space for takeoff) e.g. “Backtrack runway 13.” Also “Taxi to and backtrack runway 13.”
o Pushback is delivered as normal: “Push and start approved.”
 Many aircraft will only need startup e.g. “Startup approved.”

6
  You may also wish to add a direction to the pushback e.g. “Push and start approved, face
east.”
 If you have forgotten the QNH in the IFR clearance (see below) you may add it on the end of
the push e.g. “Push and start approved, QNH 1013.”
 IFR Clearances
o Most aircraft will be flying domestic from BIRK and so will need a standard IFR clearance. The format
is in the Cheat Sheet: [CALLSIGN], cleared to [DESTINATION] via [SID], [RWY], [CLIMB], [SQUAWK],
[QNH if the pilot did not report it].
o The SID is automatically assigned by EuroScope, although it may be blank if the pilot did not file their
flight plan correctly.
 In that case, the best thing to do is open their flight plan, see where they are going, and pick
the best SID.
o Right-clicking on the CFL (‘cleared flight level’) in the departure list will draw the route on the screen.
Zoom out to see the route.
 Right-clicking on the altitude in the tag will also do the same thing.
 Right clicking on the COPN or COPX of the aircraft in the sector exit/inbound lists will also do
the same thing.
o The initial climb will always be their requested cruise altitude unless they climb above FL245. In that
case, they technically need an oceanic clearance. This will be covered in the Keflavik International
Airport section (BIKF).
 When you set a cleared flight level that is different to their requested flight level, you must
updated the CFL in the departure list.
o The squawk is assigned by EuroScope when you press OK on the ASSR pad.
 Get into the habit of doing this as soon as the pilot files his flight plan.
o QNH is given only if the pilot did not report it on first contact.
 IFR Departure. The basic sequence of an IFR departure is this:
o IFR clearance
o Pushback and startup
o Taxi
o Takeoff
 “Surface winds xxx degrees at xx knots, [RWY], cleared for takeoff.”
 You can also give a line up and wait if, for example, someone has just landed and is taking
time to vacate: “Line up and wait runway 19.”
 You can give a conditional line up if the plane is still on approach e.g. “Behind the landing Air
Iceland Dash 8, line up and wait runway 19, behind.”
 The word ‘behind’ must be said twice.
 Note that conditional instructions also apply to pushback (“After the Dash 8 has passed,
push and start approved.”) and taxi (“After the Dash 8 has passed, taxi to…”)
 IFR arrivals. The basic sequence of an IFR arrival is this:
o Pilot calls up on final approach.
 He will have been handed over by APP. You must accept the transfer of the tag when the
pilot calls up on your frequency, not when you first see the transfer.
 It is good practice to zoom out to see how arrivals is going every couple of minutes. This
helps you maintain awareness of what is going on outside your airport (and is important
later for VFR because you actually control the airspace up to 3000ft around the airport).
 The pilot will say something like “Established on ILS runway 19 approach.”
o Your response will depend on the situation.
7
  If the runway is clear: “Surface winds xxx degrees at xx knots, [RWY], cleared to land.”
 If there is a plane on the runway: “Continue approach.”
 If there is another plane ahead on the approach: “Continue approach, number 2 behind the
Air Iceland Dash 8.”
 If you think the clearance will come very late e.g. within 3nm of the threshold: “Surface
winds xxx degrees at xx knots, runway 19, expect late landing clearance.”
 Then when the runway is clear: “Runway 19, cleared to land.” (No winds required).
o When the plane is rolling on the runway, it is good to tell them to vacate e.g. “Welcome to Reykjavik.
Vacate left next taxiway.” Or “Vacate left at the end.”
o Taxi to parking.
 “Taxi to North Apron via A and E, crossing runways 31, 24 and 19 approved.”
 VFR Zone Departures
o Important points about VFR traffic first:
 Do not try to ‘control’ VFR. The pilot is in charge, you simply provide information to allow
them to separate themselves from other traffic.
 VFR instructions/clearances tend to be given at the runway holding point, or while taxying,
not at the parking stand.
 VFR clearances can also be given mid-flight if the pilot decides to do something else, or fly to
another destination.
 VFR must receive as much information as possible about other aircraft movements so that
they can separate themselves.
o Control zone (CTR)
 This is the airspace that TWR controls. Do not confuse it with CTR as in BIRD_CTR. Instead,
this is CTR as in BIRK CTR = “Reykjavik Control Zone” (sometimes also seen as CTZ).
 At BIRK, it goes up to 3000ft and is shown as a dotted line around the airport. This is your
airspace as BIRK_TWR, and is primarily used for VFR traffic.
 Note that sometimes APP might need to descend into this airspace for IFR traffic but
they should ask you first before they do.
o Zone departure clearances
 As you can probably guess, this is when a VFR plane departs BIRK and leaves the CTR. They
need a VFR clearance to leave the CTR, together with a route or exit point.
 There are many routes in and out of the BIRK CTR, all named either as “route x” or with a
name like “Straumsvík”. You can find them on the Cheat Sheet and in the charts (towards
the end of the BIRK section).
 The basic clearance with a route is like this: “After departure [RWY] cleared via [route], not
above [maximum altitude], {optional: squawk 7000}, [QNH if not reported].” E.g. “After
departure runway 19, cleared via Straumsvík route (or via route 6), not above altitude
2500ft.”
 If the pilot doesn’t know the routes, then a ‘leaving the zone’ clearance can be given e.g.
“After departure runway 19, cleared to leave the control zone to the west, not above
2500ft.”
 Use north, east, south, west as the exit point.
o The basic sequence of the departure is this:
 Startup
 Taxi
 VFR departure instructions/clearance at the holding point or approaching the hold.
 Pilot must readback the instructions.
8
  Takeoff
 When airborne, you should ask the pilot to report over a VFR reporting point. These
are shown as triangles on the VFR chart. For example, the Aluminium Factory is a
VFR reporting point on the Straumsvík route (route 6) to BIKF.
 E.g. “Report over Aluminium Factory.”
 If they can’t do a reporting point, then ask them to “report leaving the control
zone.”
 At this point, you should inform the next controller (APP or BIKF_TWR if it is a flight
to BIKF below 3000ft) about this VFR flight and ask if there are any special
instructions they want to give e.g. new altitude restrictions, early handoff, runway in
use etc…
 Reporting
 Once they’ve reported, handoff to the next controller or UNICOM.
 VFR Zone Arrival
o As you can guess, this is when VFR traffic enters your control zone from the outside, usually to land
at the airport.
 But sometimes it could be to transit the zone, or to do some circuits and then leave again
etc…
o The basic sequence of a zone arrival is this:
 Coordination
 Depending on who is online and where the pilot is coming from, you can expect the
previous controller to contact you directly to coordinate VFR arrivals. This is the
same as when you coordinate to handoff VFR zone departures.
 If it’s coming from BIKF and is below 3000ft, then BIKF_TWR will coordinate directly
with you as BIRK_TWR.
 Otherwise, you can usually expect BIKF_APP to be the previous controller.
 During the coordination, the other controller will basically tell you that there is VFR
coming, the aircraft type, callsign, maximum altitude restriction etc… He might ask if
you have any special instruction e.g. to give your own different altitude restriction.
 Transfer
 The pilot will be transferred to you. Remember to accept the tag only when the pilot
calls up on your frequency.
 Clearance to enter
 You need to issue a clearance to enter the CTR: “Cleared to enter the control zone,
not above 1500ft, QNH 1013.”
 The pilot must read this back.
 Join the circuit
 Assuming the pilot wants to land at BIRK, he will need to join the circuit. The exact
instruction will depend on where he is coming from, but basically he has to join a
circuit sector.
o Choose out of ‘downwind’, ‘base’, ‘final’ or ‘crosswind’.
 E.g. “Join right downwind, runway 19, report downwind.”
 Report
 The pilot must report when he joins at the specific sector. Then you should tell the
pilot to report final, plus give any traffic information, and tell him what number he is
in the queue.

9
  This is a complicated part of controlling VFR and it’s important to remember to give
as much freedom to the pilot as you can.
o Note that traffic information goes both ways, you should inform the IFR
traffic that there is a VFR plane in the circuit as well.
 E.g. “Report final, number 2 behind the Air Iceland Fokker 50 on final.”
o This tells the pilot to make his own way to final so that he comes second
behind the Air Iceland IFR plane.
 E.g. “Report final.”
 E.g. “Report final, number 3 behind Air Iceland Dash 8 on final and Boeing 737-200
on short final.”
 Extreme traffic situation
 If there is so much IFR that you know the VFR will get confused behind all the people
on approach, then you can use these two tricks:
 “Left/right-hand orbit due to 4 IFR arrivals inbound.”
 “Extend downwind due to 3 IFR arrivals on approach.”
 Generally try to use traffic information and allow the VFR to do his own separation.
Only resort to orbits/extension if there is a lot of IFR blocking the way.
o For other types of zone arrival, like transits or low approach or circuits, just try to accommodate the
pilot as much as you can.
 There is no specific phraseology for everything, so sometimes you have to make things up
e.g. “Join final for low approach, then right-hand circuit, not above 1500ft.”
 Another example: “Join right downwind not above 1500ft for touch and go, then on the go,
cleared to leave the control zone to the east, not above 2500ft.”
 VFR Circuit
o After doing the VFR zone departures and arrivals, this will be easy! VFR circuit clearances are done
like this: “After departure runway 19, right-hand circuit, not above 1500ft.”
o The pilot reads back and then you say “Readback correct, surface winds…” (give takeoff).
o After takeoff, it is the pilot’s job to report downwind (in this case, right downwind). They should also
report their intentions, whether they want a touch and go or a full stop landing. If they don’t say so,
then ask “Report intentions?”
o When they report, you tell them to report final, and basically treat it like a zone arrival who has just
joined the circuit.
 So give traffic information if needed.
o Then on final, instead of saying cleared to land, say cleared for touch and go (if that’s what they
asked for). Simple!

Akureyri Airport (BIAR)

 Welcome to northern Iceland and your second airport. Akureyri adds an additional level to what you did at
Reykjavik because here the TWR controller also provides a procedural approach service up to 7000ft.
However, everything that you learnt at BIRK is still relevant, so please make sure you are confident on those
before you move over to BIAR (or rather, your mentor should make sure you are confident).
 Ground layout
o There are no taxiways, just a terminal and some hangars.
o Pushback is done as at BIRK.
o Taxi is usually just “Taxi to and backtrack runway 01.”
 If there is traffic on the runway, then “Taxi to holding point runway 01.” Then later
“Backtrack runway 01.”
10
 Akureyri Terminal Area (TMA)
o The terminal area is the area usually covered by an APP controller. At BIAR, it’s TWR that controls
this airspace. It should look like a big medicine pill surrounding the airport, and goes up to 7000ft.
Above this is BIRD_CTR… there is no BIAR_APP.
o There is no radar! You rely on position reports from the pilots.
o All arrivals to BIAR will be handed to you by BIRD_CTR descending to 7000ft.
o All departures from BIAR should be handed to BIRD_CTR when they report passing 7000ft.
 That means, just before giving the takeoff clearance, you must also ask the pilot to report
passing 7000ft e.g. “After departure runway 01, report passing 7000ft. Surface winds xxx
degrees at xx knots, runway 01, cleared for takeoff.”
 Apart from that, IFR departures are done just as you did at BIRK: give them a SID and a climb
to cruise. If they are cruising above FL245 or if they are leaving Iceland, then they need an
oceanic clearance, which we will cover in the Keflavik International Airport (BIKF) section.
 IFR arrivals
o BIRD_CTR hands traffic to you when they are descending to 7000ft, usually at about 9000ft or so.
o The pilot should call up with their altitude and inbound waypoint e.g. “Akureyri Tower, hello. Faxi
123 at FL085, descending to altitude 7000ft, inbound AKI.”
 They may also state the STAR they were given by BIRD_CTR e.g. “… on the AKI 5D arrival.”
 Your response should give the approach, runway and descent with QNH. If this feels too
long, it is recommended that you split it up into two transmissions.
 E.g. “Faxi 123, Akureyri Tower, hello. Descend to altitude 3000ft, QNH 1013.” Then after the
pilot reads back: “Cleared ILS approach runway 01, report established.”
 3000ft is the standard descent.
 You may also wish to tell the pilot “caution high terrain.” Because BIAR is
surrounded by mountains of 1000-3000ft. Pilots in real life are not told this however
because they all know what BIAR looks like. But VATSIM pilots might not 
 NB. There are different types of approaches for the different ends of the runway.
 For an NDB approach, it is “Cleared NDB approach runway 19, report final approach
track.”
 For an RNAV approach, it is “Cleared RNAV approach runway 19, report
established.”
 For a visual approach, it is “Report runway in sight.” Then when the pilot reports in
sight, “Cleared visual approach runway 19.” Then after that, “Surface winds…”
o This is very easy to get wrong and many students still get it wrong when
they start APP training. Make sure you remember that visual approach is a 3
step process: Runway in sight, cleared approach, cleared to land.
o Once the pilot reports established, then you go back to your TWR job. So give the landing clearance,
taxi to parking and you’re done!
o The problems start when you have more than one plane. In that situation, you must put someone
into the holds.
 There are two holds available to BIAR_TWR. These are NB (‘Botn’) at 7000ft and AKI at
6000ft and 7000ft. To put someone into the hold, just say “Hold at NB/AKI, 7000ft, due to
traffic.”
 When the first pilot has reported established on their approach, you can pull a person out of
the hold. E.g. “Leave the hold at AKI, cleared ILS approach runway 01, report established.”
Then “Descend to altitude 3000ft, QNH 1013.”

11
  If you have more than 3 people to hold, and have someone on approach already (i.e. you
have more than 4 planes in the TMA), this means you cannot take anymore traffic. This
almost never happens at BIAR, but basically you have to tell BIRD_CTR to stop allowing
people to enter the TMA until the holds are emptied enough to fit more in.
 BIRD_CTR will hold further traffic at enroute waypoints, or overhead AKI/NB at
higher altitudes than 7000ft (because they own the airspace from 7000ft up to
FL660).
 Aircraft Surveillance Radar Approach (ASR/SRA)
o This is an outdated approach system that is now the only one of its kind in Scandinavia. Essentially, it
involves a controller manually vectoring an aircraft onto a glideslope, and then calling out altitudes
to confirm that the plane is descending with the glideslope. It is available for runway 19 and is the
only situation where BIAR_TWR is permitted to use radar.
o The approach is available on pilot request, so do not assign this as a normal approach.
o Refer to the Guide to Iceland for details.
 VFR specialties
o The main thing with VFR is to remember that you now control both the BIAR CTR and the BIAR TMA.
o That means you need to clear people to enter/leave the CTR, but also to enter/leave the TMA.
 There are no VFR reporting points like BIRK, just use north, east, south and west.
 E.g. (someone flying from BIAR to BIGR): “Cleared to leave the control zone to the north and
enter the Akureyri TMA, not above 4500ft.” Then later, “Report leaving the TMA to the
north.”
o Note that the floor of the TMA is 3000ft, so technically VFR can fly outside the CTR (the dotted line
around the airport) but within the TMA, just below it. In that case, they do not need a clearance to
enter the TMA, just to stay below it e.g. “Cleared to leave the Akureyri control zone to the north, not
above 3000ft, remain below the TMA.”

Vágar Airport (EKVG)

 Now that you are experienced with basic aerodrome control, it is time to consider a different kind of TWR
service. This is the “I_TWR” position: aerodrome flight information service (AFIS).
o AFIS is where the ‘AFIS officer’ (not controller) provides traffic, weather and other relevant
information to all flights in and out of an airport.
o The AFIS officer does NOT control flights and pilots have no obligation to do what is suggested.
 There are two exceptions in the Reykjavik CTA:
 1) Pilots must request startup from the AFIS officer and can only start engines after receiving
the approval.
 2) Pilots must follow IFR clearances issued by the AFIS officer, which are always taken from
another higher controller by coordination. This is actually not really an exception, because
the pilot is following a clearance from a higher controller… the AFIS officer is just passing the
message on.
o At all major AFIS airports in the Reykjavik CTA, contact with AFIS is compulsory when entering the
Traffic Information Zone (TIZ), or if there is no TIZ, when approaching the airport. This is different to
some other countries (especially the USA/Canada) where pilots can use AFIS airports without any
contact at all. Note that in some countries, AFIS is known as ‘uncontrolled’.
 The major AFIS airports are EKVG, BGBW, BGGH, BIIS, BIEG, BGTL, BIVM and BGKK.
 The reason that contact with AFIS is compulsory is because these airports receiving
significant levels of IFR passenger traffic in real life, but for some reason have chosen to
remain AFIS rather than becoming controlled airports.

12
 Vágar Airport is consistently the busiest AFIS airport in Scandinavia and the only airport in the Faroe Islands.
The AFIS officer provides services up to 7500ft and in a 60nm radius around the centre of the country.
o The ground layout is quite simple. There are 5 stands (1-5) at the terminal and 3 more ‘remote
stands’ on the taxiway.
o The taxiway can only be used by ONE plane at a time. This means you will need to keep giving traffic
information in busy periods because if there is an arriving plane, then all departures must avoid
taxying.
 Alternatively, you suggest that the departure taxi to the holding point, then backtrack after
the arrival has landed at the other end of the runway. Once the departure has taxied down
to the threshold, then the arrival can backtrack to the taxiway and continue to the terminal.
 IFR clearances.
o Remember, you only pass on the clearance, you do not issue clearances yourself.
o All IFR clearances at EKVG are oceanic clearances (OCL), so this is a good chance to see what a
standard oceanic clearance would sound like, without having to actually design it yourself.
o You get the OCL from BIRD_E_CTR if they are online or BIRD_CTR, or BICC_FSS as a last resort.
 If no-one is online, then you can’t give a clearance. Just say “Departure at your discretion,
preferred runway xx, report ready for startup.”
 BIRD will need the callsign of the aircraft, as well as the flight level, route and mach speed.
 You can get all the above from the flight plan. The mach speed is the difficult one. It
should be filed like this: MxxxFxxx POINT POINT POINT etc…
 E.g. M078F330 MY G3 NASBU or MY/M078F300 G3 NASBU
 If it isn’t filed, then you need to ask the pilot for the mach speed BEFORE you go to
BIRD e.g. “Report requested mach speed for oceanic clearance.”
o Please don’t push the pilot too much if they don’t understand what you are
asking for. VATSIM pilots are often not aware of the intricacies of ATC and
there is no point getting angry at a pilot  If the person doesn’t understand
after you’ve asked them twice, just give up and tell BIRD that the pilot
doesn’t know his mach.
 Once you have the mach, you need to open the flight plan and edit the mach into
the route (just like above). Then you go to BIRD asking for OCL.
 Most BIRD controllers are quite happy to just get the callsign and then look up the flight plan
themselves, but some people want to have you say all the above information out for them.
 They will then issue you a clearance that looks something like this: “Cleared to [DEST] via
[ROUTE], Initial climb FL290, mach speed [MACH].”
 You should read that back to BIRD, who will then say “correct.” If you’re both busy,
sometimes it’s fine just to say thanks for the clearance and stop the coordination there.
 You must modify the flight plan to show the route you have given and the mach speed. This
means deleting unnecessary parts of the route.
 E.g. MY G3 NASBU might become M075F260 MY ROSTI NASBU.
o Now it’s time to give the oceanic clearance. There are two things you need to add: squawk and
runway.
 The runway is generally stated at the start of the routing, and the squawk at the end of the
clearance. You also have to say who did the clearance, which is either Reykjavik (Control)
East, Reykjavik (Control) or Iceland (Radio).
 E.g. “Reykjavik East clears to Reykjavik Airport via runway 12 direct MY, direct
NASBU. Initial climb FL290, mach decimal 78, squawk 4401.”
 The runway may also be put at the end, as a preferred runway.
13
  E.g. “Iceland clears to Reykjavik Airport via MY, direct NASBU. Initial climb FL290,
mach decimal 78, squawk 4401. Preferred runway 12.”
o Once the clearance has been read back, just say “Readback correct, report ready for startup.”
 This is important because startup is the only substantive instruction you will give.
 IFR Departure: this is what a normal departure sequence will look like.
o IFR clearance request
 Look for mach, route, FL.
 Coordinate with BIRD_E, BIRD or BICC for OCL.
 Pass on to pilot
o Startup
 “Startup approved.”
o METAR/Met Report
 We usually give the full met report after startup. Just ask the pilot if they are ready to copy
the met report. Then give it.
 You can find a good metar decoding guide on the VATSIM Scandinavia website under
common training documents.
 The phraseology is usually like this “Vágar Information at time 1120z. Readback QNH only.
Surface winds 300 degrees at 9 knots. Visibility 10km or more. Few clouds at 3300ft, broken
at 5500ft. Temperature plus 05, dewpoint plus 01, QNH 1013.”
 The ‘readback QNH only’ part is a VATSIM invention. The reason behind it is that
some pilots do not say anything at all, which makes you wonder if they received the
report, while other pilots try to readback the whole thing, which is a waste of time.
 After they readback the QNH, just say “correct” or “readback correct.”
o Pushback
 If they ask for this, just say, “Push at your discretion.” They may ask for it during startup, in
which case say “Startup approved, push at your discretion.”
 Do not say, “Push and start approved” (because you can’t approve pushback as you
are AFIS, not ATC) or “Push and start at your discretion” (because you must
authorise engine startup as an AFIS officer in the Reykjavik CTA).
o Taxi
 “Taxi at your discretion” + traffic info.
 E.g. “Taxi to runway 12 at your discretion, caution Atlantic Airways A319 pushing back from
stand 3.”
 E.g. “Taxi to and backtrack runway 30 at your discretion.”
 E.g. “Taxi to runway 12 at your discretion, traffic is Scandinavian B737 landing runway 12.”
o Takeoff
 “After departure [runway], report passing 7000ft. Runway xx is free.”
 The ‘report passing 7000ft’ is due to the top of the EKVG TIZ being 7500ft. That is the
altitude you will handoff to BIRD_E_CTR, and the altitude you will receive aircraft at.
o Handoff
 Either to BIRD_E_CTR or BIRD_CTR. If no-one is available, then to UNICOM.
 In special circumstances, when BIRD is very busy or offline and EGPX/SCO_CTR is online,
then you can handoff southbound traffic directly to SCO_CTR (Scottish Control). Please
coordinate with them first.
 IFR Arrival
o There is no real sequence for this, but there are some basics.

14
 o Accept transfer from BIRD_CTR when the traffic is approaching, descending to 7000ft. Press accept
when the pilot calls up on frequency.
o Give the pilot the preferred runway, the traffic in the TIZ that is relevant and the met report. It’s best
to split this up over two transmissions.
 E.g. “SAS123, Vágar Information, hello. Preferred runway is 12, traffic is Atlantic Airways
Dash 8 departing runway 12 now, and Scandinavian B737 who reported over MY 2 minutes
ago approaching runway 12.” After the pilot acknowledges that, then “SAS123, this is Vágar
Information at time 1240z, readback QNH only. Surface winds…”
o Ask the pilot to report to you at major points in the approach. For example, at the final point in his
flight plan (usually MY or CONNY), when established ILS, when on final for visual approach, when on
final approach track for NDB approach etc…
o If you ever need an additional report so that you can update traffic information to other pilots,
please ask! Your job is to make sure everyone knows about everyone else.
o Although we do have the ability to cheat by looking at EuroScope, it is good practice to rely solely on
the traffic information reports you receive as AFIS. So try not to look at the radar screen, just focus
on the ground view, and you will get a more realistic experience as AFIS officer. In real life, it is often
just a person in the tower with a radio and a pair of binoculars.
 VFR traffic
o We do not cover this in the practical training, but essentially, do the same kind of thing that you
would for IFR. The only thing is that there is no clearance, but you do ask them to report over some
visual reporting points called Miðgård and the Waterfall.
o Look at the Guide to the Faroe Islands for examples.
o You do not need to go to BIRD for clearance/VFR instructions because VFR should remain below
7000ft. If they climb above 7000ft, then they need to get an IFR OCL.

Greenland Towers & AFIS

 We do not do practical training at Greenland’s airports, but you are welcome to request a practical session if
you are especially interested. Instead, we just explain the basic procedures for the major airports and leave
it to you to read up in the Guide to Greenland.
o Remember that S2 controllers can control throughout the Reykjavik CTA without additional training,
and that includes Greenland’s airports.
 Basically, you need to know two things about TWR in Greenland:
o 1) It’s all AFIS except…
o 2) BGSF.
 With the AFIS airports, domestic departures are “at your discretion”. This is different to EKVG because
above EKVG you have a controlled position, BIRD_CTR. But in Greenland, above all the AFIS airports up to
FL195 is BGGL_FSS (Søndrestrøm Information) which is not a controller but instead is like a giant AFIS officer
covering the whole country. So he cannot issue clearances at all.
o However, with international flights, you need an oceanic clearance. This is done like EKVG_I_TWR:
you ask a higher controller, they give the clearance to you, then you pass it on to the pilot using the
phrase “[The higher controller] clears to [destination] etc…”
o The difference is in the people you contact. At EKVG, it was BIRD_E, BIRD then BICC.
o In Greenland, it depends on where you are. Please contact the following controllers in this order:
 Northern Greenland (CTA North Sector) = BICC only. No BICC = departure at your discretion.
 Central Greenland (CTA West Sector) = BICC, BIRD_W then BIRD.
 Southern Greenland (tip of country outside CTA) = BICC, then CZQX (Gander Radio)

15
 o Other than the clearance, AFIS is done exactly the same as EKVG. You need to approve startup, then
everything else is at your discretion. The phrase for the runway is, “Runway xx is free.” In terms of
the top altitude of the AFIS unit, it is described on the Cheat Sheet as ‘ARR descend xxxx ft.’
 BGSF is where the procedures are significantly different.
o Domestic clearances: read off the Cheat Sheet template. Essentially, you say the full met report,
then cleared to destination, then full routing, climb to cruise and squawk. Pilots must read back the
QNH plus the clearance. This makes for a very long clearance so allow time for it!
 E.g. “SAS123, readback clearance and QNH only. This is Kangerlussuaq Information at time
1220z. Winds 120 degrees at 3 knots. Visibility 10km or more. Few clouds at 3000ft.
Temperature plus 12, dewpoint plus 10, QNH 1013, cleared to Nuuk via… {the whole file
route}. Initial climb FL180, squawk 3516.”
 Read airways using the phonetic alphabet e.g. W28 = “Whiskey-two-eight”
o International clearance: these are oceanic, talk to BICC, BIRD_W then BIRD (Central Greenland). You
will need the mach speed from the pilot.
o Runways are used in a specific direction. Runway 27 is departures, runway 09 is arrivals. Be careful
of this, it can become very dangerous very quickly 
 Reason is because of high terrain east of the airport.
 Keep an eye out for arrivals and do not depart a plane if you see an arrival coming. You are
allowed to use EuroScope to cheat on this, or to ask BGSF_APP. In real life, they would
coordinate closely to avoid planes crashing in mid-air.
 All departures go to SF NDB and most arrivals will also be given ‘direct SF’ by
BIRD_CTR. Therefore, there is huge potential for conflict if you do not time takeoffs
and landings properly.
o As for the ground layout, it is pretty simple. Apron North is scheduled flights and Apron West and
East are for everything else.
o Takeoff instructions can be simplified to “Runway 27, cleared for takeoff.”
 There is no need to give winds because you gave them in the long IFR clearance.
 Landing instructions still need winds because APP doesn’t give a met report.

Keflavik International Airport (BIKF)

 Well done! You are now entering the final stages of your S2 training so congratulations on making it this far.
 BIKF is the biggest and most complex airport by far in the Reykjavik CTA. Here you will fine tune your skills
from all the previous airports.
 Oceanic clearances
o All international flights need an oceanic clearance. Also, all domestic flights climbing above FL245
need an oceanic clearance. The clearance is issued by BIKF_DEL, which you cover top down as TWR.
o Follow the examples in the Guide to Iceland and the template on the cheat sheet. Essentially, there
are 3 kinds of clearance:
 First: those flights going east via the G3 airway.
 You open up the flight plan and select 3 waypoints. 1 = end point of a SID, or first
waypoint of flight plan. 2 = ROSTI, LARUX or ING. 3 = exit point to Scotland or
Norway (Stavanger, not Bodø).
 Second: those flights going through Gander, Shanwick or Bodø Oceanic.
 You right-click CFL to see the full route drawn on the screen and find where the
route terminates at a landfall point. For example, where does the route hit the
Canadian, western Scottish or northern Norwegian coastline?

16
  Then close that, and open up the flight plan. You will read every waypoint until that
landfall point.
 Third: all other flights.
 Read every waypoint until they leave the Reykjavik CTA.
o Before you give the clearance, you will need the mach speed. Like EKVG_I_TWR, you can take this
from the pilot’s flight plan. If they don’t have a mach speed, that should be the first thing you ask the
pilot when he calls up for clearance.
o You must modify the flight plan to show the route you have given and the mach speed. This means
deleting unnecessary parts of the route.
 E.g. METIL G3 VALDI… becomes M079F330 METIL ROSTI VALDI…
 Ground layout as per Guide to Iceland/Cheat Sheet.
o Keep an eye out for pushbacks at the terminal, especially if they are going to conflict with taxying
traffic. You can use a conditional pushback e.g. “after the Icelandair B757 has passed, push and start
approved” or you can tell the plane to standby if you think you can't see the traffic.
o Taxiways used to be numbered by segments, but now you can just say “Taxi via N and E.” Try to get a
flow going where you use one route for arrivals and one route for departures. There is no hard rule
for this, make it up as you go along. But if you use the same route for both arrivals and departures
you will end up with problems where they are facing each other.
o Remember, as BIKF_GND (or TWR covering GND), you are responsible if two planes are facing each
other on the same taxiway. It's not like the other airports we've done where you just say "Taxi to
North Apron, caution Air Iceland pushing back." At BIKF, it's your job to keep them apart.
 That said, be flexible with the taxi clearances. If one stand is blocked, use another so that the
planes keep moving.
 Runways are long; they can land an A380. Make sure you use continue approach instructions, late landing
clearance if it is going to be late. Tell the pilot what number he is for using the runway. Prioritise the runway
first over oceanic clearances/taxi/pushback.
o If you’ve forgotten the different types of continue approach instructions, refer back to BIRK.
o "Go around, I say again, go around" should be used if it's going to be less than 0.3nm from the
threshold.
 Go-arounds should be sent immediately to APP and tell APP immediately on TS. If the pilot
wants a specific instruction, it is usually climb 4000ft, maintain runway heading.
 Keflavik Control Zone (CTR) is up to 3000ft around the airport (above that is the Keflavik TMA covered by
BIKF_APP up to FL245).
o VFR departures all go via Straumsvik – route 6 (or just "cleared to leave the control zone to the
east"). You can hand off to BIRK_TWR/BIKF_APP pretty much as soon as the pilot is clearly flying
eastbound and safely out of the way. Alternatively you can say "report leaving the control zone" or
"report at Kuagerði" (equivalent of the "Aluminium Factory" in the BIRK CTR).
o VFR arrivals will report leaving the BIRK CTR at Aluminium Factory or the border, and BIRK_TWR will
handoff to you, first coordinating on TS if there is anything special to talk about. They should just join
the circuit either downwind or base, not above 1500ft and get the QNH.
o VFR circuit is your choice of direction, 1500ft altitude.
 Non-standard IFR departures (i.e. funny route that you can't understand) should be coordinated with APP.
Also IFR circuits should be coordinated with APP.
 Prioritisation is the number one priority! 
o If you have a choice, try to do things in this order: Runway, Airspace (VFR), Taxiways,
Apron/Terminal, Clearance.

17
 o
For example, you need to give an IFR oceanic clearance to a plane who you just told to standby, but
there is also a plane approaching the hold for takeoff and another plane behind him, plus a VFR
arrival from BIRK on route 6 (Straumsvik) that BIRK_TWR coordinated with you and who is about to
call up on your frequency. What do you do?
 1) Give takeoff clearance to the plane approaching the hold.
 2) Tell the other plane to line up and wait after the first plane has departed.
 3) Wait 5 seconds for the VFR flight to call up. Then give the VFR arrival the joining
instructions to join the circuit, along with QNH and traffic info about the planes departing
(because they could potentially conflict with the VFR arrival).
 4) Give the IFR oceanic clearance.
 Can you see that this is prioritising the pilots who are most in need? Try to be as strict as you
can with prioritisation, but also use some common sense. If someone has been waiting more
than 5-10 mins for an IFR clearance, maybe you might like to push them up the list of
priorities, even though clearance is the last point.
 What we expect for the S2 checkout?
o That you have a good knowledge of IFR clearances, both standard (domestic) and oceanic.
o That you have a good knowledge of IFR procedures
 Do you know how to give these instructions: pushback, taxi, takeoff, landing, continue
approach?
 Do you know what to do with a go around?
o That you have a good knowledge of VFR procedures.
 Do you know how & when to give VFR departure instructions?
 Do you know how to handle VFR flights on the ground?
 Do you know how to give VFR joining instructions?
 Do you know how to handle the VFR circuit?
o That you give appropriate traffic information.
 Do you give traffic information whenever there is a potential conflict, even if it seems
unlikely?
 Do you give traffic information to both IFR and VFR flights?
 Do you give traffic information in pairs? (i.e. both pilots get info about each other).
 Do you give traffic information relative to the airport? (and not using vectors or using ‘xx
o’clock’)
o That you have a good knowledge of meteorology.
 Can you decode a basic metar and read it out in full?
o That you coordinate.
 Do you talk to the controllers around you by private text and Teamspeak?
 Do you tell surrounding controllers about runway changes, VFR traffic, go arounds, non-
standard IFR traffic, etc…?
o That you keep the departure list and tags updated.
 Do you update the departure list when you give instructions?
 Do you transfer tags on handoff?
 Do you accept tags when pilots call up on your frequency?
o That you control fluently and calmly.
 Do you prioritise traffic appropriately?
 Do you remain calm when there are many planes talking to you, or doing unexpected
things? (or do you panic)
 Do you start to make lots of mistakes when there is heavy traffic?
18
  Can you handle at least 5-10 planes on your frequency without needing to call for backup?
o That you have a basic knowledge of the Reykjavik CTA and its three countries.
 Do you know the sector splits for CTR?
 Do you know our neighbours?
 Do you know the major airports around the CTA and feel capable of controlling them solo?
 If you can do all of these things above, you should feel confident in passing the checkout. Whilst it is based at
BIKF_TWR, there is nothing stopping the examiner from asking you theory questions about other airports.
 Good luck!

19
S3 – Approach/Departure Control
Welcome to the next stage of your ATC journey: approach control. Here is an overview of what you will cover:

 Introduction to Airspace (BIKF/BIRK/BGSF) – 30 minutes

o Airspace classifications in more detail.
o Understanding the separation of responsibilities between TWR and APP.
o Coordinating with TWR and CTR.
o Separation minima.
o General speed restriction below FL100.
 Departures (BIKF/BIRK) – 15 minutes
o Identification.
o Climb and directs.
 Approaches (BIKF) – At least 4 hours
o Vectoring techniques.
o Speed control.
o Descents.
o Directs to final approach fixes.
o Holding patterns.
o Final approaches
 Vectored ILS approach (standard default approach).
 Transition/RNAV ILS.
 RNAV approach.
 NDB approach.
 Visual approach.
 Aircraft Surveillance Radar approach (remember BIAR_TWR).
 Controlling Multiple Airports & Heavy Traffic (BIKF/BIRK) – At least 4 hours + online practice.
o Prioritisation techniques across multiple airports.
o Advanced techniques for managing very heavy traffic flow.

20
Airspace (BIKF/BIRK/BGSF)
 We will begin your APP training with a deeper examination of airspace and area of responsibility. These
topics were glossed over quickly in the S2 training because it isn’t that important to deal with them as TWR.
But as an APP controller who now controls a big section of airspace with radar and with underlying airports
and surrounding higher airspace, it is time to know them in detail.
 Airspace classifications
o Airspace can be classified using letters from A to G. You can find a full explanation in the VATEUD
ATC Training Manual. The main things to note for Reykjavik are:
o Class A = IFR only. No VFR allowed at all, VFR planes must open an IFR flight plan mid-flight if they
want to enter Class A.
 Examples of Class A: FL195 to FL245 in BIKF/BIRK_APP sector, above 5500ft outside of
Iceland but within Reykjavik CTA etc…
o Class C = separation between IFR and VFR provided. That means that you can give radar vectors to
VFR to separate them from IFR traffic. However, this is optional and it is still best to give traffic
information to VFR and let them separate themselves.
 Example of Class C: 3000ft to FL195 in BIKF_APP sector.
o Class D = separation between IFR flights only. That means VFR can only rely on traffic information
and must separate themselves from both IFR and other VFR.
 Examples of Class D: 3000ft to FL195 in BIRK_APP sector, BIAR TMA etc…
o Class E = same as Class D except that traffic information might not be provided to VFR if ATC decides
not to e.g. too busy, do not want to, VFR is experienced pilot who has not requested info etc…
 Example of Class E: 3000ft to FL195 in BGSF_APP sector.
o Class G* = compulsory flight information service (AFIS). Pilots must contact AFIS officer for
information even if they don’t need it. Pilots must request startup.
 Examples of Class G*: all major AFIS airports such as EKVG, BGBW, BGGH, BIIS, BIEG, BIVM…
o Class G = flight information service to everyone on request (AFIS). No obligation to contact AFIS
officer and pilots can fly even without requesting startup.
 Examples of Class G: all smaller AFIS airports, BGGL FIR below FL195
 Keflavik Approach (BIKF_APP) will be your checkout position so we will focus mainly on this position.
However, do not forget that you can also control BIRK_APP and BGSF_APP as well.
o The visibility range is 150nm (3x bigger than BIKF_TWR!).
o BIKF_APP covers both BIKF and BIRK TMAs together. When they are combined, this is known as the
‘Faxi TMA’ (named after ‘Faxi’, the radio callsign for Air Iceland). The combined TMA has 2 different
airspace classes but they are so similar that you never really notice the difference.
o Above FL195 to FL245, the TMA is Class A = no VFR.
o Above FL245 it is BIRD_S_CTR, usually covered as part of the bigger BIRD_CTR. On rare occasions you
may also see EURI_FSS (Eurocontrol Islands) online. They cover above FL245 throughout Iceland, UK
and Ireland, so if it is just BIKF_APP and EURI_FSS online, APP can handoff straight to EURI.
o Covering both BIKF and BIRK airports is an added challenge, and for the checkout we usually have a
BIKF_TWR but no-one at BIRK. Therefore, you must do all the TWR responsibilities at BIRK.
 Often, you will also control BIKF_APP with absolutely no-one else online, meaning you cover
both BIKF and BIRK top down. This can be even more challenging if it’s an event with low
staffing and you end up vectoring heavy traffic while giving oceanic clearances and taxi.
 Coordinating with TWR is crucial to your success as APP.
o You must know for example, what the runway and ATIS info is when you log on. If TWR doesn’t give
this to you straight away, then ask for it.

21
 o TWR controls the CTR (control zone), which is 3000ft and below at both BIKF and BIRK. Obviously,
you will control the BIRK CTR if there is no BIRK CTR.
 If you descend into this zone, you must tell TWR. E.g. you have a plane who is going for a
visual approach and needs to get closer to the airport at a funny angle. Then tell TWR that
you will descend this guy to 2000ft or even 1000ft and that he might cause some trouble
with VFR. TWR will then give traffic information to the VFR about this special plane.
 You do not need to tell TWR if it is a standard IFR approach descending on the glideslope.
You also do not need to tell TWR if you descended to 2000ft to help the pilot capture the ILS
because the vectoring angle was wrong. That is fine; it’s only if he is going to be completely
off the ILS and on some other approach that you need to coordinate.
o You should also coordinate with TWR on go-arounds.
 TWR will usually get planes to contact you as soon as they can. They may have been given
runway heading, climb 4000ft as well. If TWR is unsure what to do, give them an instruction
with a heading and altitude (like rwy hdg, 4000ft).
 After you get a go-around, you just need to vector them back for another approach.
o You should coordinate with TWR on non-standard IFR departures.
 This is when a plane files an incorrect flight plan that TWR can’t fix, or wants to do IFR
circuits.
 With IFR circuits, it is basically vectoring the plane in a circle like VFR. The approach that they
get depends on what the pilot is requesting.
 Regarding incorrect flight plans, you need to use your airspace knowledge to resolve this.
Here are some ideas to help:
 “After departure [runway] cleared direct [waypoint in the TMA].”
 “After departure [runway], expect vectors.”
 With an oceanic clearance, you will need to coordinate with BIRD_CTR yourself to
see if you can allow incorrect routes e.g. “After departure [runway], cleared GPS
direct New York…”
 Separation minima
o Flights must be separated within BIKF_APP airspace by 3nm laterally and 1000ft vertically.
o This is a minimum, TWR does not appreciate it when everyone is coming down the ILS at only 3nm
separation because there will probably have to be a go-around!
o It is better to have at least 5nm separation between arrivals, and 10nm if you notice that TWR is
lining up departures for takeoff. Part of your job in coordinating with TWR is actually to keep an eye
on the ground situation. Yes you might be doing great with your stream of 15 arrivals all separated,
but meanwhile TWR is grumbling because he cannot depart anyone at all 
 That said it is a balancing act. Try to avoid being too nice to TWR and just vectoring traffic in
circles for ages because TWR wants to depart some traffic. Coordination goes both ways!
o To help with separation, you should turn on leader lines to 3-5 minutes. You can find instructions on
this in the EuroScope manual.
 The general speed limit below FL100 is 250kts. You can lift this speed limit by saying “Free speed.” E.g.
“SAS123, descend to altitude 3000ft, QNH 1013, free speed.”
o If someone doesn’t understand this, you can also say “no speed restrictions.”

Departures
 Departures are very easy to handle in general, and even easier at BIKF because it is mostly oceanic traffic
that is already cleared on set routes, with a climb to FL290 (higher than your max altitude FL245).

22
  The main thing you need to do is radar identify the pilot and provide free speed if you want. Identification is
the process by which you confirm that the blip on your screen is in fact the pilot talking to you, and that his
altitude in the plane is the same as the one you see on your screen.
o The pilot will call up like this: “Keflavik Approach, hello. SAS123, climbing past 1500ft for FL290.”
o Your reply should be “SAS123, Keflavik Approach, hi. Identified.” (You can also add “Free speed”).
o If the pilot does not confirm their altitude on first contact, you should modify your reply to include
the altitude you see on your screen e.g. “SAS123, Keflavik Approach. Identified passing 1500ft.”
o If the pilot has confirmed a different altitude to you, chances are that his QNH is not set properly.
Ask the pilot to set QNH to the correct number and see if you can correlate the altitude.
o Remember to accept the tag from TWR on first contact.
 At other airports outside the Reykjavik CTA, it is normal to also give a climb to the highest altitude you can
give (FL240) and a direct to the edge of the TMA. This is not normal in the Reykjavik CTA because our
international flights have oceanic routes set by DEL, and our domestic flights already climb to cruising
altitude. However, just bear in mind that if you want to be a visiting controller elsewhere, the normal reply
to a departure would be “SAS123, Keflavik Approach. Identified, climb FL240, cleared direct [POINT].”
 Once the plane is approximately 5 minutes from your boundary with BIRD_CTR, or about 2000ft below your
maximum altitude (FL245), handoff to BIRD_CTR. Remember to pass the tag as well, and BIRD will accept it
when the pilot calls up on their frequency.

Arrivals
 This is where you will earn your money as APP controller. Handling lots of arriving traffic is the single hardest
thing about being APP. Unfortunately, there isn’t very much you can read to help… you’ve just got to
practice and watch videos of people controlling to see how they do it. Every controller develops their own
vectoring style; you will develop your own from the various influences that you reach to.
 Vectoring techniques.
o Vectoring is all about giving headings. E.g. “Turn left heading 300 degrees.”
o When vectoring for an ILS approach, you should aim to vector to the outside of the vectoring
triangle, then turn into the triangle’s point for the final instruction.

o If you have a line of successive aircraft, then you can give each one a slightly different turn so that
they produce a “fan”.
 E.g. Turn the 1st plane heading 300 degrees, 2nd plane heading 290 degrees, 3rd plane
heading 280 degrees etc…
o If you have a plane that needs to lose altitude, you can vector them around in a big circle. Another
option is to vector them in closer, but then at the final turn, make them turn in the opposite
direction so that they effectively do an orbit to get to the ILS. They will lose a lot of altitude in this
360 degree turn.
23
 Speed control.
o Lateral separation can easily be obtained by speed control and this should be your first attempt at
separation, rather than vectors. There are 5 kinds of instruction you can give:
o Maintain xxx knots = maintain this exact speed. If you give everyone in the line of arrivals the same
speed, they should all stay the same distance apart.
o Maintain xxx knots or greater = maintain at least this speed. This is useful if you want someone to go
faster than someone else, because their current separation is insufficient.
o Maintain xxx knots or less = maintain exactly or less than this speed. This is useful for the same
reason as the ‘or greater’ instruction, plus, it means you don’t have to ask the pilot to resume
normal speed later because they will slow down anyway for the ILS.
o Resume normal speed = go back to the standard speed restriction of 250 knots or less. If you have
given one of the first 2 instructions, you MUST give this ‘resume’ instruction before they reach the
ILS. Otherwise, the pilot will be forced to fly the ILS at excess speed.
o Free speed = this is used if you want to lift the 250 knots speed restriction. Useful for when you want
someone to fly really fast to the ILS, although it’s not guaranteed that they will actually go as fast as
you want them to.
 Descents.
o Traffic must be separated by a minimum of 1000ft. In practice, this means that the first plane is
descended to the ILS altitude of 3000ft, the second plane to 4000ft, the third to 5000ft etc…
 When one person establishes on the ILS, then everyone else is pushed down by 1000ft.
o Remember to add the QNH when you descend below the transition level. You can get the current
transition level from the automatic ATIS (it says so in the text field).
 E.g. “Descend to altitude 3000ft, QNH 1015.”
 Directs to final approach fixes.
o This tends to work only if the person is going for a straight-in approach, or if they are heading for an
RNAV/transition ILS approach.
o Just clear them direct the final approach fix. Then assign the appropriate approach (see below).
 Holding patterns.
o In theory, all waypoints in the TMA are possible holding points. In practice, we never use holds in the
Reykjavik CTA, preferring to rely on vectoring and speed control to achieve separation. However, you
are welcome to put someone into the hold if you wish, follow the phraseology you learnt at
BIAR_TWR about AKI and NB holds.
 Final approaches.
o There are many ways you can assign the final approach. The default at BIKF is always the vectored
ILS approach at BIKF, and at BIRK it varies depending on the runway (see cheat sheet).
o Vectored ILS approach.
 You vector the plane around to the vectoring triangle. Then the last instruction you give
should be a turn towards the triangle’s point, within 35 degrees of the localiser (so if runway
is 11, that means about heading 110 degrees, which means your final turn must be within
headings 75-145 degrees).
 E.g. “Turn right heading 080 degrees, cleared ILS runway 11 approach, report established.”
 If the pilot looks like they’re going to miss the ILS, you can correct the heading e.g.
“Turn left by 5 degrees for the ILS.” Or “Turn right 090 degrees for the ILS.”
 You can also descend them lower e.g. “Descend to altitude 2000ft for the ILS.” This
type of descent does not need coordination with TWR.
 Once the pilot reports established, you can handoff to TWR.

24
  If they do not report established and they clearly are, just give them a gentle
reminder e.g. “Confirm established?”
o Transition ILS.
 This is quite new at BIKF and so many pilots may not be able to do this approach. Essentially,
you clear them direct to an initial approach fix (IAF), after which you say:
 “Via the [FIX] transition, cleared ILS runway xx approach, report established.” Then you
follow the rest of the normal ILS procedures.
 E.g. “Cleared direct SONAX.” Then “Via the SONAX transition, cleared ILS runway 11
approach, report established.”
 The advantage of this approach is that you can skip all the vectoring. The disadvantage is
that most pilots will not have the approach programmed into their FMC/GPS. An easy way to
find out if you can assign this approach is asking if they have the IAF e.g. “SAS123, are you
able direct SONAX?” If they have the waypoint, they probably have the ILS transition.
o RNAV approach.
 Like the Transition ILS, the RNAV approach is new to BIKF and you must ask pilots if they are
able to follow the approach before you assign it.
 E.g. “Cleared direct ELVUM.” Then “Via ELVUM, cleared RNAV approach runway 19, report
established.”
 Note that RNAV approaches tend to descend to 2000ft, not 3000ft. Check the charts for
details!
o NDB/VOR approach.
 This is a traditional approach for aircraft that can’t handle the ILS or fancy RNAV approaches.
Instead, it’s all about flying towards an NDB or VOR, and then flying in an arc back around to
the airport. This is the gist of it:
 “SAS123, cleared direct KFV.”
 “SAS123, cleared VOR approach runway 11, report beacon outbound.”
 Beacon outbound is when they are leaving KFV.
 “SAS123, report final approach track.”
 Once reported, then they can be handed off to TWR.
 It is normal to descend to 3000ft for the KFV VOR, then the pilot is free to descend as per the
procedure in the charts.
o Visual approach.
 This approach is used if the pilot cannot use any other approach (or doesn’t want to). It can
also be used as a last-minute attempt to land a plane if, for example, they missed the ILS but
they don’t want to do a go-around. These are the steps:
 “SAS123, report runway in sight.” Once they do so…
 “SAS123, cleared visual approach runway 11.” Once they readback, handoff to TWR.
 The clearance for visual approach must NOT be given until runway is reported in
sight.
 The clearance is also NOT a clearance to land. That must be a separate clearance.
 When you are vectoring in for a visual approach, you normally need to let the plane get
closer and lower. This requires coordination with TWR e.g. Can I descend SAS123 to 1500ft
and vector him within 5nm of BIKF? (because it goes way into the BIKF CTR which is TWR’s
airspace).
o Aircraft Surveillance Radar (ASR) approach.
 Look back to BIAR_TWR. This is only a BIAR thing, but it is a type of approach.

25
Controlling Multiple Airports & Heavy Traffic
 Prioritisation techniques across multiple airports.
o Get used to switching ground views using ‘.center XXXX’ (airport ICAO code). You should periodically
be checking both BIKF and BIRK ground views to stay aware of the traffic situation.
o Don’t let pilots creep up on you, taking off without permission when you don’t notice. If you see
someone moving without permission, send them a contactme.
o Know your airports well. Students easily get caught out giving oceanic clearances to domestic traffic
at BIRK, or clearing arrivals for the ILS at BIRK runway 31 when it doesn’t have an ILS. Or you might
forget that BIKF has a terminal and you can’t just say “taxi to North Apron.”
o Do you remember this from TWR? Runway, Airspace (VFR), Taxiways, Apron/Terminal, Clearance.
o For APP, I have a new set for you. This is if you are covering an airport top down.
o Runways, IFR Final Approach, IFR Initial Approach, IFR Departures, VFR Traffic, Taxiways,
Apron/Terminal, Clearance.
 Advanced techniques for managing very heavy traffic flow.
o As we mentioned before, vectoring planes in big circles, with a fan-out sequence or making them
turn in the opposite direction to lose altitude, are all techniques you can use to also handle heavy
traffic flow. Essentially, you need to spread traffic out around your TMA.
o During events that involve a lot of European traffic, the Faxi TMA has one gigantic weakness. This is
the METIL-NASBU area. As you will know from controlling BIKF_TWR, the majority of European
departures get METIL, GAKTU or NASBU as their first waypoint. What you might not know is that the
majority of European arrivals get the same waypoints for their arrival oceanic clearance.
 This creates an enormous conflict zone around the eastern side of your TMA. One way to
deal with this is to extend the vectoring zone east of the TMA, allowing BIKF_APP to vector
traffic even outside the TMA when they are approaching NASBU. In return, departures are
handed off to BIRD_CTR early so that BIRD can vector them out of the way, even though
they are still inside the TMA.
 This needs close coordination with BIRD and ideally you two should sit in a separate
TeamSpeak room at the peak of the event.
o Holding patterns can also be used in heavy traffic although this is very rare. Every waypoint can be
used as a hold and there are some published holds as well in the charts. You can also ask BIRD_CTR
to hold traffic further away e.g. at NASBU or ROSTI/ING. Remember that your holds can go up to
FL245 (the top of your airspace).
o Diverting planes is the final technique you can use if all else fails. You are allowed to divert flights to
BIRK instead of landing at BIKF, but only if they are a B757-200 or smaller. Make it clear to the pilot
why you are diverting them and make sure they can accept landing at BIRK.
 What we expect for the S3 checkout?
o That you have a very good knowledge of TWR procedures.
 You should know more than the average TWR controller about TWR procedures, especially
because they will be asking you for help when they can’t issue a proper IFR clearance, or
they have a difficult pilot.
o That you can vector proficiently.
 Can you predict where a pilot will be when you give the turn?
 Can you adjust your vectoring instructions to suit the pilot? (e.g. text pilots tend to take
longer to start turning than voice pilots etc…)
 Can you vector accurately most of the time, or are you always issuing corrections?
o That you handle the TMA with ease.

26
  Can you spread traffic out and maintain separation by vectoring, speed control and
descents?
 Do you descend appropriately or are pilots always too high or too low?
 Do you use unnecessary separation techniques when others might be more appropriate?
(e.g. giving big vectors when actually speed control might have solved the problem).
o That you keep sector lists and tags updated.
 Do you update the tags when you give instructions?
 Do you hand off tags when handing off traffic?
 Do you accept tags when pilots call up?
o That you coordinate.
 Do you talk to the controllers around you by private text and Teamspeak?
 Do you tell surrounding controllers about the traffic status in the TMA?
 Do you speak to other controllers about organising better directs for pilots? (e.g. asking
BIRD_CTR to clear direct to an IAF for an RNAV approach, so that the pilot can start
preparing from that approach from far away).
o That you control fluently and calmly.
 Do you prioritise traffic appropriately?
 Do you remain calm when there are many planes talking to you, or doing unexpected
things? (or do you panic)
 Do you start to make lots of mistakes when there is heavy traffic?
 Can you handle at least 10-15 planes on your frequency without needing to call for backup?
o That you have a basic knowledge of other approach positions.
 Could you control BIRK_APP (only BIRK) or BGSF_APP (BGSF) without additional training?
 Can you answer theory questions about these positions?
 If you can do all of these things above, you should feel confident in passing the checkout. Whilst it is based at
BIKF_APP, there is nothing stopping the examiner from asking you theory questions about BGSF_APP.
 Good luck!

27
C1 – Area Control
Congratulations on getting this far! You are now about to begin training for the highest rating available, the Area
Control C1 rating (there are other ratings related to staff positions and seniority, but this is the highest training rating).
This course is all about consolidating your knowledge from TWR and APP, as well as applying it all at the same time
over vast areas of airspace. The checkout position, BIRD_CTR, covers all the airspace from western Norway to eastern
Canada, roughly between 61N and 71N. That includes all the airports in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and it also has
a special role to play in Central Greenland. Therefore, your main challenge will be to prioritise across a large area with
many different procedures to take into account.

This is an overview of what you will cover:

 Reykjavik CTA Reminder – 30 minutes

o Revise sector splits, neighbouring countries, which is radar and which is non-radar etc…
o Revise underlying airports, TWR & APP procedures.
 Area Control – 4 hours
o Separation
o Directs
o Changing routes and altitudes
o Handoffs
o Coordination
o Controlling AFIS top down.
 Oceanic Clearances – 15 minutes
o By coordination for AFIS
o For Central Greenland
o Arrival and transit clearances.
 Søndrestrøm Information – 2 hours
o Flight Information Service
o Position reports
o Radar at BGSF.
 Controlling Heavy Traffic – At least 4 hours + online practice.
o General controlling with heavy traffic.

28
Reykjavik CTA Reminder
 Revise the layout of the Reykjavik CTA, who are our neighbours, what are the underlying airports etc…

Area Control
 Area Control is all about providing radar surveillance to traffic in your airspace. This means maintaining
separation between flights and looking out for conflicts. In the Reykjavik CTA, it also includes issuing arrival
and transit oceanic clearances when Iceland Radio (BICC_FSS) is offline. Finally, it is important to remember
that on VATSIM we operate on the top-down principle, meaning that you also cover all underlying airports
top down.
 Visibility range of BIRD_CTR should be 450nm-600nm.
 Directs
o You can give a direct to any waypoint in your airspace. Usually, BIRD_CTR will give directs to the
edge of its airspace to save the pilot time and fuel.
o E.g. A departure comes to you from BIKF_APP. Instead of letting him follow the route that BIKF_TWR
gave to him, just clear him direct to the edge of your airspace.
o E.g. A transit enters your airspace from Norway and is flying through to eastern Canada. Clear him
direct to the Reykjavik-Edmonton boundary near Canada.
 Changing route, changing height, changing speed.
o Changing the aircraft’s route is done with directs. If it is a substantial change, you may also wish to
re-issue the oceanic clearance.
o Changing height is a simple matter of checking for conflicts, then giving the change. If it was a
request from the pilot, then you should say “approved” e.g. “Approved. Climb FL360.”
 Descent to the Faxi TMA is FL100. Descent to other airports is shown on the Cheat Sheet.
o Changing speed is done with reference to their mach speed. Open the flight plan to see what their
mach is supposed to be, and you can modify that and ask the pilot to go faster or slower.
 Monitoring separation
o The separation minima vary. You must keep an eye on all planes to make sure they do not breach
these minima. Use speed control, altitude changes and directs to avoid conflicts.
o In the Faxi TMA, it is 3nm and 1000ft.
o Outside Faxi TMA, it is 5nm and 1000ft, below FL270.
o Above FL270, it is 10nm and 1000ft.
o Above FL410, it is 10nm and 2000ft separation.
 Handoffs
o When you handoff to radar controlled airspaces (Norway Control, Scottish Control, Edmonton
Centre), you do it the same way as an internal handoff within the Reykjavik CTA.
o When you handoff to procedural controlled airspaces (Shanwick Radio, Gander Radio, Bodø Oceanic
Control, Iceland Radio, Søndrestrøm Information), you need to tell the pilot to report their position.
E.g. “Report next position to xxx on xxx. Bye bye.”
o It is normal in other countries to accept the tag as soon as handoff is initiated instead of waiting for
the pilot to call up on your frequency. Try to keep this in mind and do it their way when you can.
 Shanwick/Gander have a special procedure with Reykjavik which is explained in the Guide to
Iceland, where Reykjavik provides a squawk for incoming aircraft directly to
Shanwick/Gander who will pass the squawk on to the pilot.
 Then when the pilot calls up on your frequency, your first reply can be “Identified.”
 Helping lower controllers (coordination)
o BIRD_CTR is the highest controlling authority in most of the Reykjavik CTA and a lot of lower
controllers will come to you for help. This could involve trying to sort out routings with DEL, giving

29
 oceanic clearances to AFIS controllers, giving domestic IFR clearances for AFIS, coordinating arrival
directs with APP, coordinating climbs with APP etc…
o You must have a very good knowledge of everything in the TWR and APP courses.
 Controlling AFIS top down
o When you are controlling an AFIS airport top down, you must still provide an AFIS-style service. That
means you don’t provide radar control information and you have to tell the pilot that they are
receiving AFIS.
 For departures, just do it as if you were xxxx_I_TWR. The only difference is that instead of
saying "Reykjavik clears to…” in the IFR or oceanic clearance, say “Cleared to…” because you
are doing the clearing. Then on takeoff add the altitude at which you want them to report so
that you can identify them e.g. “After departure report passing 7000ft, runway 30 is free.”
 For arrivals, as they are descending towards the AFIS zone you have to change the type of
service. This is done like this: “Identification terminated. Information service only.” Then you
can continue by providing preferred runway, traffic and weather information.

Oceanic Clearances
 By coordination for AFIS
o Remember when you were on EKVG_I_TWR and you needed to get the oceanic clearance from
BIRD_CTR? Well, it’s time to give the clearance yourself. Of course now you would be an expert on
oceanic clearances so it should be relatively easy to open up the flight plan and work out a route.
 For Central Greenland
o BICC_FSS is the main authority for Greenland’s oceanic clearances (both departures and arrivals) but
if they are not online, you are the person that BGSF_TWR/APP, BGGH_I_TWR and BGKK_I_TWR will
come to for oceanic clearances. This is only applicable to international flights, as well as domestic
flights above FL285. It does not apply to domestic flights below FL285 (use the local TWR/AFIS
procedures for that).
o If the TWR/AFIS is not online, you need to give the oceanic clearance. This adds another level of
difficulty to your job, because you have to also monitor traffic on the ground at these airports. So
even though the floor of your airspace in the West Sector is FL195, you are still required to ensure
that all flights needing an oceanic clearance are given one before they pushback.
 Arrival and transit clearances.
o BICC_FSS is the usual authority for inbound oceanic clearances however, if they are offline, you are
responsible for all planes entering your airspace.
 BICC will normally contact pilots 25 mins prior to entry from Europe, 30 mins from Russia
and 45 mins from North America. As BIRD_CTR, you can mimic this, however, you may run
into some problems with pilots not being able to see you in their list of controllers (because
BICC has a range of 1300nm, you have a range of 600nm). Therefore, it is also acceptable to
contact pilots 5-10 mins before entry instead.
o These are done similarly to departure oceanic clearances, except that the order is slightly different.
It should be “cleared to [dest] via [route]. From [first waypoint], maintain [FL], [mach], [squawk].”
o There is no difference in routing.
o Squawk is not required if the plane is coming from another radar position e.g. from Scottish Control.
It is required if it’s coming from a procedural position e.g. Iceland Radio. It’s also required if coming
from UNICOM.

30
Søndrestrøm Information
 BGGL_FSS is a flight information service, which is akin to an enroute AFIS officer. It provides information
below FL195 and covers all Greenlandic airports top down. This includes BGSF, where BGGL_FSS transitions
to a radar control service.
 Visibility range should be 1100nm-1200nm.
 Speaking to BGGL_FSS is not compulsory enroute, but it is compulsory at the major airports of BGSF, BGBW,
BGGH, BGKK and BGTL. If you get traffic flying to/from these airports, make sure they are on your frequency
for their departure and arrival, but they can go to UNICOM if they want to enroute. However, it is nice to
encourage people to monitor BGGL instead of UNICOM… much more fun for both pilot and controller!
 Position reports are required when cruising because BGGL has no radar. Keep in mind this is for flights
cruising below FL195, above FL195 they should be with BICC (Northern Greenland), BIRD (Central Greenland)
or CZQX (Southern Greenland).
o The pilot needs to call up at every waypoint in their flight plan and report their position as follows:
“[CALLSIGN] at [POINT], [TIME], [FL], [MACH], estimating [NEXT POINT] at [TIME], [3rd POINT]
thereafter.”
o Times are given in zulu.
o You just need to repeat the whole report back to the pilot, after which they will either say “correct”
or “negative” and give you the correct report.
o In real life, BGGL relies solely on these reports and you might like to simulate this by ignoring what is
on your screen and focussing on keeping reports of all the pilots in your airspace to know where
they are. However, you still need Euroscope open to coordinate with other ATC, and to find pilots
who haven’t contacted you and should have.
 Radar at BGSF
o At BGSF, you have radar. So you have to give pilots approaching BGSF a squawk and then identify
them, saying “Identified, radar control service.” You can then vector around for the LOC approach
runway 09, or use the NDB approach via SF also for runway 09.
o For flights departing BGSF, and staying below FL195, you will need to tell them “Identification
terminated, information service only” when they leave the TMA. But if they are climbing above
FL195, they will be entering BIRD_CTR so no transition of service is needed (because BIRD is radar).

Controlling Heavy Traffic

 Controlling heavy traffic, even with supporting ATC like BIKF_APP, is a big challenge on BIRD_CTR. The
problem is that the airspace is so big, the airports so varied, and the oceanic clearances so complex, that it is
easy to lose focus on how to prioritise traffic.
 Unfortunately, there is no easy solution out. All we can say is practice, practice, practice! Be online with your
mentor, and solo using the solo endorsement. There is no better way to get used to all the procedures and
complexity of the airspace.
 Here are some issues that regularly crop up:
o G3 airway. Because almost all the flights to/from Europe use G3, it is often congested during events.
This is even with BIKF_DEL giving different waypoints to different flights, and BICC_FSS doing the
same (or you if BICC is not online).
 To deal with this, try to coordinate with APP for big directs straight to the IAF of ILS
transition approaches, or RNAV approaches. This takes some pilots out of the airway.
 Other techniques obviously include speed control, especially nearing BIKF. You can reduce
the mach speed of pilots quite dramatically, so even if they are cruising at M0.79, you can
ask them to go down to M0.65 or similar if they are catching up to the pilot in front of them.
Just make sure you explain why when you give the restriction.

31
 o METIL-NASBU area. As we discussed in the S3, this area east of the Faxi TMA is a disaster zone for
events.
 The technique generally used is to temporarily delegate chunks of airspace to BIKF_APP, so
they can vector arrivals away from departures very early. This means you need to hand off
to APP as early as 15 minutes before entry to the TMA, instead of the usual 5 mins.
 BIKF_APP will also hand off departures to you at awkward headings, sometimes vectored
north or south of where they should be. Coordinate closely with APP so that you are aware
of what they are doing with the traffic. As soon as the plane is clear of the danger zone, then
give them a direct back to their oceanic cleared route.
o Prioritisation. When you’ve got no-one online to help you and it’s getting busy, what do you
prioritise? Here is a list to help you:
 Runways, IFR Final Approaches, IFR Initial Approaches, IFR Departures, VFR Traffic,
Enroute Separation, Arrival/Transit Oceanic Clearances, Taxiways, Apron/Terminal,
Ground IFR/VFR Clearances.
 What we expect for the C1 checkout?
o That you have a very good knowledge of TWR procedures.
 You should know more than the average TWR controller about TWR procedures, especially
because they will be asking you for help when they can’t issue a proper IFR clearance, or
they have a difficult pilot.
o That you have a very good knowledge of APP procedures.
 You should be able to vector, control speed, control altitude and know the TMA airspace
better than the average APP controller. They will look to you for leadership as BIRD_CTR is
the senior controlling authority in the Reykjavik CTA.
o That you handle enroute control with ease.
 Can you spread traffic out and maintain separation by directs, speed control and descents?
 Do you descend appropriately or are pilots always too high or too low for APP?
o That you keep sector lists and tags updated.
 Do you update the tags when you give instructions?
 Do you hand off tags when handing off traffic?
 Do you accept tags when pilots call up?
 Do you use appropriate handoff techniques with foreign ATC? (i.e. at EGGX, CZQX, ENSV,
SCO/EGPX, ENOB, CZEG).
o That you coordinate.
 Do you talk to the controllers around you by private text and Teamspeak?
 Do you tell surrounding controllers about traffic inbound to their airports?
 Do you speak to other controllers about organising better directs for pilots? (e.g. asking
BIKF_APP to clear direct to an exit point out of the CTA to save time).
o That you control fluently and calmly.
 Do you prioritise traffic appropriately?
 Do you remain calm when there are many planes talking to you?
 Do you start to make lots of mistakes when there is heavy traffic?
 Can you handle at least 10-15 planes on your frequency without needing to call for backup?
 If you can do all of these things above, you should feel confident in passing the checkout. Whilst it is based
on BIRD_CTR, there is nothing stopping the examiner from asking you theory questions about BGGL_FSS.
 Good luck!

32
BICC – Iceland Radio Special Endorsement
Iceland Radio (BICC_FSS) requires a special endorsement to operate. To get this endorsement, you must have passed
your C1 checkout already. The position is one of the most complicated in the world; however, if you read carefully
through this Handbook, read the Guides to Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and examine the Sector Map,
you should be fine. The endorsement is awarded after an online mentoring session (no checkout).

 BICC controls the North Sector above FL195.

o This is a procedural service, relying on position reports every waypoint. The format for these reports
is in the Cheat Sheet and you just need to read it back to the pilot like you did at BGGL_FSS.
 BICC cannot give directs in the North Sector, unlike BIRD.
 Note that High Arctic traffic will appear to fly much faster than normal. This is because of the
Earth being round and not flat  So the further north they are, the faster they will zoom
across your screen. At the latitudes north of Greenland (Arctic Ocean), a plane can cross the
‘2400’ nm top of your airspace in about 10 minutes.
 When the next waypoint is the exit point, you can say, “report altitude only at [POINT]” so
that you don’t get a full position report.
o Separation is 60nm or one degree of latitude. There is a project at the moment to reduce this to
50nm, but for all intents and purposes, there is no difference.
 To separate planes on the same level you can use speed control (change the mach) or time
restrictions. E.g. “Cross 75N040W not before 1220z.” or “Cross 82N030W at or after 1753z.”
 Time restrictions can also be placed on the oceanic clearance, rather than waiting for them
to enter your airspace.
 I repeat, you cannot use directs. You must rely on speed, time and altitude only.
o Visibility range should be set to about 1200-1500nm.
 BICC provides ALL inbound oceanic clearances to the ENTIRE Reykjavik CTA.
o This is the main job of BICC, providing oceanic clearances. Think of yourself as a giant DEL controller.
o It is your job to find people inbound to the Reykjavik CTA (including sectors that you are not
controlling) and send them a contact message to give an oceanic clearance.
o Clearances are to be given 25mins before entry from Europe, 30 mins before entry from Russia and
45 mins before entry from North America. So make sure your visibility range is big enough to see
these people.
o You do not need to coordinate with BIRD/BGGL for clearances, although it is nice to tell them if you
do something unexpected. You should also keep updated on the traffic situation, so that you might
be able to adjust routings or entry time restrictions on arrivals/transit flights.
 BICC controls the West Sector above FL195 when BIRD is offline.
o This is an additional responsibility, the West Sector. Effectively, you control most of Greenland when
BIRD is offline, minus the tiny part of Southern Greenland that is under Gander.
o This is procedural control, not radar, even though BIRD normally covers this sector with radar.
 BICC provides all departing Greenlandic oceanic clearances.
o All of Greenland’s airports get their departure oceanic clearances from BICC. This means you will
have local ATC/AFIS, or even BGGL_FSS, calling you up on Teamspeak or private chat asking for
clearance.
o Initial climb in Greenland for oceanic can be to cruise, it doesn’t have to be to FL290.
o If no-one is online, you must spot departures before they start taxying and give them an oceanic
clearance if they are international flights, or domestic flights below FL285.
 BICC provides all departing Icelandic/Faroese oceanic clearances when BIRD or local ATC is offline.
o This applies only if local ATC is offline. Basically do what you do for Greenland.

33