Direct routings
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, North Shore
Direct routings
A question I've often wondered about is when I am cleared direct to some waypoint way down my flight plan, potentially multiple sectors away, even across the border, how do the controllers coordinate this? Do you have to talk to each one along the line, or what exactly happens?
Re: Direct routings
It depends if we know about the impact of the direct.
If I don't know the answer, (e.g. is there a military area active multiple sectors away, or it interferes with a departure/arrival corridor, multiple sector boundaries, etc) we would ask via hotline. To an external agency I'd often just ask the one sector. If they don't know the answer they may ask the sector down the road. Internally I may ask more than one sector myself if required, but usually I'd only ask the relevant/adjacent sector.
Over time you learn which points are always accepted, or learn a traffic pattern of another sector such that we can tell quickly if it has no impact on operations and then approve it without asking.
If I don't know the answer, (e.g. is there a military area active multiple sectors away, or it interferes with a departure/arrival corridor, multiple sector boundaries, etc) we would ask via hotline. To an external agency I'd often just ask the one sector. If they don't know the answer they may ask the sector down the road. Internally I may ask more than one sector myself if required, but usually I'd only ask the relevant/adjacent sector.
Over time you learn which points are always accepted, or learn a traffic pattern of another sector such that we can tell quickly if it has no impact on operations and then approve it without asking.
