Karachi Area Control Centre (Urdu: {{Nastaliq|کراچی ہوائی مرکز اختیار) is one of two Area Control Centers in Pakistan operated by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and is based in Terminal 1 at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.[1] Karachi ACC air traffic controllers provide en route and terminal control services to aircraft in the Karachi Flight Information Region. The Karachi FIR airspace covers Pakistani airspace between the 30° North to 23° North. To the north is the Lahore FIR. To the east is the Delhi FIR. To the south is the Muscat FIR and to the west are the Tehran FIR and Kabul FIRs.
Karachi ACC if divided into 4 control sectors:[2]
Karachi ACC is equipped with Indra's Aircon 2100 radar system.[3] and provides air traffic control services to all air traffic and its airspace. It also expedites sequencing of arrivals and departures along STARs (Standard Terminal Arrival Routes) and SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures). Certain exceptions include military airspace and lower-level airspace controlled by local airport towers and TRACONs.[4] Karachi ACC is also part of the Bobcat Air Traffic Flow Management program, which helps to optimize traffic flow through Kabul FIR. Due to lower navigation and surveillance capabilities, and limited ATS provision capabilities, Kabul FIR often becomes very congested airspace with limited number of operating routes and flight levels. Whereas the level allocation is made by AeroThai, the primary responsibility for tactical management of level allocation rests with Karachi ACC.[5]
The Karachi ACC assumes control of the following airports: