VATUSA
Virtual Air Traffic Simulation - USA Division
Operational and Duty Priorities
Believe it or not, we’ve come up with a way for you to conduct your job while controlling. We call it the Operational and Duty Priority. Now, in the real world of ATC, this is full of exceptions and rules regarding different types of flights and who is on the airplane and where it’s going.
Well here on VATSIM, we change that a bit. We can reference our rule partly from the real world though.
From The FAA – FAA Order JO 7110.65S § 2-1-4
“Provide air traffic control service to aircraft on a "first come, first served" basis as circumstances permit…â€
WAIT A MINUTE!!!!
YOU LEFT SOMETHING OUT!
As you can see, this doesn’t follow the FAA exactly…yes, in the real world there is a second half of that definition which goes into all of those exceptions we talked about before, but here on VATSIM, we have our own set of rules.
From VATUSA – VATUSA Policy 07/01, Section 5
A. “No aircraft will be given priority over any other by virtue of its call sign, status, virtual passengers, or pilot flying the aircraft.â€
B. “VATUSA Controllers have the right to approve and allow special procedures for aircraft under their control within ARTCC and VATUSA policy and guidelines.â€
C. “Pilots should not expect any special treatment, queuing, or clearances over that of their fellow pilots. Pilots not familiar with this policy and demanding special treatment will be asked to conform to the policy and follow the controller's instructions.â€
D. “Failure on the pilot's part to follow ATC instructions as it relates to this policy will result in a call for a Supervisor to disconnect the pilot(s) should they interfere with normal ARTCC operations.â€
B. “VATUSA Controllers have the right to approve and allow special procedures for aircraft under their control within ARTCC and VATUSA policy and guidelines.â€
C. “Pilots should not expect any special treatment, queuing, or clearances over that of their fellow pilots. Pilots not familiar with this policy and demanding special treatment will be asked to conform to the policy and follow the controller's instructions.â€
D. “Failure on the pilot's part to follow ATC instructions as it relates to this policy will result in a call for a Supervisor to disconnect the pilot(s) should they interfere with normal ARTCC operations.â€
But wait, we still have those Duty Priorities. What’s the deal with those? Glad you asked. These we can follow from the real world and we do every day here on VATSIM.
To explain further...
From The FAA – FAA Order JO 7110.65S § 2-1-2
a. “Give first priority to separating aircraft and issuing safety alerts as required in this order. Good judgment shall be used in prioritizing all other provisions of this order based on the requirements of the situation at hand.â€
b. “Provide support to national security and homeland defense activities to include, but not be limited to, reporting of suspicious and/or unusual aircraft/pilot activities.â€
c. “Provide additional services to the extent possible, contingent only upon higher priority duties and other factors including limitations of radar, volume of traffic, frequency congestion, and workload.â€
The first priority and the last priority are the two we use here on VATSIM. The second one we don’t use really because there is no defense of the internet homeland.
On VATSIM, additional services can vary based upon what area of the country you control in and how much traffic you have. For us, asking the score of the Giants game is an additional service! (although you may hear that in the real world too!)
