Section 3. Air Traffic Familiarization/Currency
Requirements for En Route/Terminal/Flight Service Facilities
2-3-1. GENERAL
a.
It is the responsibility of the employees
identified in Paragraph 2-3-2, Application, to work
in conjunction with their supervisors to ensure they
adhere to the requirements of this section.
b. Facility managers must develop procedures for
tracking and reporting currency for those employees
identified in subparagraph 232b.
2-3-2. APPLICATION
a. Air traffic managers, assistant managers,
executive officers, staff managers, operations
managers, support managers, traffic management
officers and support specialists, who as a condition of
employment are not required to maintain currency,
must maintain familiarity with control room
operations to perform their required duties in an
efficient manner.
b. Air traffic control specialists (ATCS), traffic
management coordinators (TMC), national traffic
management specialists (NTMS), developmental
specialists (ATCS/TMC/NTMS), first-level
supervisors (including facility managers who also
serve as first-level supervisors), operations
supervisors (OS), front line managers (FLM),
supervisory traffic management coordinators
(STMC), national traffic manager officers (NTMO),
and air traffic assistants (ATA) are required to meet
currency requirements in order to perform their
duties.
2-3-3. REQUIREMENTS
a. Familiarization. The methods used for
personnel identified in Paragraph 2-3-2a,
Application, to maintain familiarization must be
specified in a local facility directive.
b. Currency. Personnel must rotate through all
positions on which they maintain currency each
calendar month. Additionally, they must meet the
following requirements:
1. Number of positions required to maintain
currency.
(a) ATCSs, TMCs, NTMSs, developmental
specialists (ATCS/TMC/NTMS) and ATAs must
maintain currency on all operational/control positions on which certified.
(b) Firstlevel supervisors (OS, FLM,
STMC, NTMO) and support specialists (who
maintain currency) must maintain currency on a
minimum of two and a maximum of eight
operational/control positions.
NOTE-
Handoff, Tracker, and CAB/TRACON coordinator
positions do not count towards the minimum of two and
maximum of eight operational/control positions.
(c) TMCs/STMCs required to maintain
currency on operational positions within the traffic
management unit (TMU), and control positions
outside the TMU (dual currency), must maintain
currency on a minimum of two and a maximum of
eight operational/control positions outside the TMU.
(d) Waivers to any requirements contained in
paragraph 233b(1), may only be approved by the
respective Director of Operations, who is required to
forward all waiver requests and dispositions to the
Director of Operations Support for tracking and
oversight.
2. The following minimum time must be met
each calendar month: a minimum of one hour per
position is required; time working combined
positions satisfies the requirement for each of the
combined positions. Except for flight service station
(FSS) and air traffic assistants, time working the
assistant controller, flight data communications,
flight data, and clearance delivery positions is not
counted toward total currency time requirements;
however, the onehour minimum time per position is
required to maintain currency.
NOTE-
Handoff, Tracker, CAB/TRACON coordinator, Final
Monitor, FLM/FLMIC, and managerial (incharge)
positions do not have a currency requirement and time
spent working those positions is not counted.
(a) ATCSs, Developmental (Dev) ATCSs,
and ATAs.
(1) TERMINAL. Radar/tower operational/control positions: A minimum of eight hours tower
and eight hours radar. If certified in only one area of
operation (tower or radar), a minimum of 16 hours is
required.
(2) EN ROUTE, FSS, and ATAs. A
minimum of 16 hours on operational/control
positions is required.
(b) TMCs, NTMSs, and developmental
TMCs/NTMS are required to maintain operational/
control position currency as follows: a minimum of
16 hours on operational/control positions.
(c) Support specialists who maintain currency.
(1) TERMINAL. Radar/tower operational/control positions: a minimum of four hours tower and
four hours radar. If certified in only one area of
operation (tower or radar), a minimum of eight hours
is required.
(2) EN ROUTE/ATCSCC. A minimum of
eight hours on operational/control positions is
required.
(d) FLMs/OSs (including facility managers
who also serve as firstlevel supervisors).
(1) TERMINAL. Radar/tower operational/control positions (excluding the FLM/FLMIC
position): a minimum of four hours tower and four
hours radar. If certified in only one area of operation
(tower or radar), a minimum of eight hours is
required.
(2) EN ROUTE, FSS. A minimum of eight
hours on operational/control positions (excluding
managerial (incharge) positions) is required.
(e) STMCs/NTMOs are required to maintain
operational/control position currency as follows: a
minimum of eight hours on operational/control
positions excluding managerial (incharge) positions.
(f) Dual Currency. TMCs/STMCs at all Air
Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) and at New
York TRACON (N90), Potomac TRACON (PCT),
Northern California TRACON (NCT), and Southern
California TRACON (SCT) are required to maintain
currency only within the TMU. All other TMCs/STMCs are required to maintain dual currency.
(1) TERMINAL. Radar/tower operational/control positions: a minimum of four hours tower and
four hours radar. If certified in only one area of
operation (tower or radar), a minimum of 8 hours is
required.
(2) EN ROUTE. A minimum of eight hours
on operational/control positions is required.
(3) TMC/STMC optional. Staffing and
workload permitting, TMCs/STMCs not required to
maintain dual currency may elect to maintain dual
currency. Dual currency is not subject to the
provisions of Paragraph 234; Differential.
(g) Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR)
approaches (where published): three each calendar
quarter, one of which must be a nogyro. Radar
simulation may be used to satisfy these requirements.
3. Time spent performing onthejobtraining
(OJT) instruction as an OJT instructor is not counted
toward operational/control position currency.
4. Time spent receiving OJT on combined
positions, where the employee is certified on some of
the combined positions, is not counted toward
operational/control position currency.
5. Time spent performing certification skills
checks, operational skills assessments, skills checks,
overtheshoulders, etc., is not counted toward
operational/control position currency.
NOTE-
Initial operational/control position certification
completed in a month meets the requirements for that
position for that month. Individuals recertified in a month
must meet currency requirements for that month
regardless of the day of recertification.
TBL 2-3-1
Currency Requirements
Position
|
Operational/
Control Position
Currency
|
Total
Minimum
Currency
Requirements
|
ATCS/Developmental
ATCSTMC/
Developmental TMC
FSS Specialist/Dev
FSS Spec NTMS/Dev
NTMS/ATA
|
Min 16 hours/month
Min 1 hr per position
|
16 hours
|
Support Specialist (if
maintaining currency)
|
Min 8 hours/month
Min 1 hr per position
Min 2/Max 8
positions
|
8 hours
|
FLM/OS
STMC/NTMO
FSS OS
|
Min 8 hours/month
Min 1 hr per position
Min 2/Max 8
positions
|
8 hours
|
TMC Dual Currency
|
Within TMU:
Min 16 hours/month
Min 1 hr per position
Outside TMU:
Min 8 hours/month
Min 1 hr per position
Min 2/Max 8
positions
|
24 hours
|
STMC – Dual
Currency
|
Within TMU:
Min 8 hours/month
Min 1 hr per position
Min 2/Max 8
positions
Outside TMU:
Min 8 hours/month
Min 1 hr per position
Min 2/Max 8
positions
|
16 hours
|
2-3-4. DIFFERENTIAL
To qualify for currency differential as outlined in the
Air Traffic Control Revitalization Act, personnel
must be certified and maintain currency on at least
two positions excluding clearance delivery and flight
data positions.
2-3-5. TRACKING
a. Operational/control position currency time
must be documented in accordance with processes
described in Paragraph 226, Sign In/Out and
On/Off Procedures, and tracked.
b. Air traffic managers must document, in a
facility directive, a quality control process to ensure
that personnel who do not meet currency requirements in a calendar month do not work an
operational/control position prior to recertification in
accordance with FAA Order JO 3120.4, Air Traffic
Technical Training.
|