Houston ARTCC

Houston ARTCC (1965-Active) - One of 22 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC)s in the United States. Established in 1965 near Houston, Harris County, Texas. Assigned a FAA ID of ZHU. Active FAA Air Traffic Control Center. Also known as Houston Center. History The Houston ARTCC (ZHU) was constructed in June 1965 on an 18-acre site adjacent to the George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport. Installation of automation processing equipment began in 1969 and evolved into a very complex system. The latest updates included adding a new control room and controller support wing added in 1999. In June 2000, the center transitioned to DSR (Display System Replacement) and VSCS (Voice Switching and Control System). The Houston ARTCC is currently located at 16600 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Houston, Texas. The Houston Center covers a part of the FAA's Central service area. The Houston Center area of responsibility consists of nearly 300, 000 square nautical miles of airspace encompassing parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and a large portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Over 150 VHF and UHF radio frequencies located at over 40 remote transmitter/receiver sites provide continuous radio coverage throughout the Houston Center area. The Houston Center has inputs from 9 long-range radar sites providing almost complete radar coverage. Some 400 square nautical miles in the Gulf of Mexico remains without radar coverage. Navigation along more than 46,700 nautical miles of airways and routes is provided by 56 VOR/VORTAC’s (radio navigational aids). Within the Houston Center area, there are 22 FAA control towers, 16 approach control facilities, 87 major airports, and 15 military fields. Houston Center has six Operations Managers (OM’s) who provide oversight and leadership for 6 specialty areas: Austin, Lufkin, Rock Springs, Corpus Christi, New Orleans, and Lake Charles The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system of 24 FAA Area Control Centers, 20 in the lower 48 United States, one in Alaska, one in Hawaii, one in Puerto Rica and one in Guam. The system operates with radar data provided by FAA radar sites, DoD radar sites, and other federal agency radar sites. These centers provide en route and oceanic services to private, commercial, and military aircraft overflying their respective control areas. As aircraft enter or exit from one control area to the next, responsibility for the aircraft is transferred to the gaining ARTCC. Voice communication between aircraft and the ARTCCs is supported by a network of ground-air radio sites often co-located with the radar sites. The gathering of radar, beacon and other sensor data are now largely automated and continuous, but the actions necessary to control the airspace are conversational and require some 14,000 FAA air traffic controllers talking directly to pilots in the air and on the ground at terminals. This number does not include military air traffic controllers. Houston ARTCC (ZHU) Total Operations (aircraft handled) 2,250837 FY2016 Total Operations (aircraft handled) 2,250,740 FY2017 Operations Rank 9/24 FY2017 En-Route Air Traffic Controllers 308 a/o 17 Sep 2016 Airspace Area (sq miles) 220,000 Houston ARTCC Long-Range Radar Sites (edit list) FAA JSS NORAD Site St_ Equip_ Status Origin GPS ARTCC Notes ZQRB J-12 Z-336 Citronelle AL CARSR ATCBI-6 Active Replaced Dauphin Island different location 31.03987, -88.23775 ZHU *√ ZAEX Alexandria LA CARSR ATCBI-6 Active England AFB 31.31435, -92.53062 ZHU √ ZLCH J-14A Lake Charles LA ARSR-4 ATCBI-6M Active 30.36056, -93.51139 ZHU √ ZNEW J-13 Z-246 Slidell (New Orleans) LA ARSR-4 ATCBI-6M Active 30.34806, -89.77944 ZHU √ ZQYS Rogers TX CARSR ATCBI-6 Active 30.94389, -97.26861 ZHU *√ HOUA J-15 Z-240 Houston Ellington TX CARSR ATCBI-6 Active Ellington AFB 29.61556, -95.17306 ZHU √ ZQNA J-15A1 Morales TX ARSR-4 ATCBI-6M Active 29.34139, -96.87167 ZHU √ ZQZA J-16 Z-242 Oilton TX ARSR-4 ATCBI-6M Active 27.49889, -98.96944 ZHU √ ZRSG J-25A Rocksprings TX ARSR-4 ATCBI-6M Active 30.04667, -100.26778 ZHU √ ZSOA J-25 Z-339 Sonora TX ARSR-3 Unk Closed-1997 30.47111, -100.55806 ZHU Gone Note: This list includes only long-range FAA Radar Sites listed with this ARTCC as the Overlying Enroute Center. Adjacent ARTCC sector sites are not shown and short-range terminal radar sites are not shown. Southern Air Defense Sector (SADS) On 26 Oct 1971, a Cuban Airliner with 19 Cuban delegates to an International Sugar Conference arrived undetected over New Orleans Moisant Airport and requested landing instructions. The flight arrived undetected by the existing string of FAA radar sites across the Gulf Coast and caused great concern. No mechanism existed to intercept unidentified planes approaching from the south. None of the FAA radar sites had a height-finding capability and none had the capability to run intercepts. To create the necessary capabilities the 630h Radar Squadron was activated on 1 Aug 1972 and assigned to the FAA's Houston ARTCC when the Houston Manual NORAD Control Center was completed in October 1972. Southern Air Defense Sector (SADS) Radar Sites (edit list) FAA JSS NORAD Site St_ Equip_ Status Origin GPS ARTCC Notes --- J-14 Z-248 Lake Charles LA FPS-93 Closed 1990s Lake Charles AFS 30.18472, -93.17500 630 OL-AF 634 678 OL-AD 23 OL-BD --- Z-249 Dauphin Island AL FPS-93 Closed 1980 Dauphin Island AFS 30.25028, -88.07833 ZHU 635 630 OL-AG 678 QZA J-16 Z-242 Oilton TX ARSR-4 Active 27.49889, -98.96944 ZHU 630 OL-AB 678 OL-AA SVC J-28 Z-245 Silver City NM CARSR Active 32.98917, -108.96056 ZAB 4929 26 OL-AG --- J-27 Z-244 El Paso TX ARSR-1 Closed 1997 31.68083, -106.19722 4629 26 OL-AH QXS J-26 Z-243 Odessa TX CARSR Active 32.55417, -102.42778 ZFW 630 OL-AA 26 OL-AA SAT Z-241 Lackland TX FPS-66A Closed 2011 Lackland AFB 29.38803, -98.63332 ZHU 630 OL-AD HOUA J-15 Z-240 Houston Ellington TX CARSR Active Ellington AFB 29.61556, -95.17306 ZHU 630 OL-AC 678 OL-AB NEW J-13 Z-246 Slidell LA ARSR-4 Active 30.34806, -89.77944 ZHU 630 OL-AE 678 OL-AC PHX J-29 Z-247 Phoenix Humboldt Mtn AZ CARSR Active 33.98139, -111.79806 ZAB 4929 26 OL-AF Current Status Active FAA facility in Houston, Harris County, Texas. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: 16600 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Houston, Texas 77032 Maps & Images Lat: 29.96144 Long: -95.33194 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 83' GPS Locations: 29.96144, -95.33194 Houston ARTCC 29.96184, -95.33312 Entrance See Also: FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers JSS and FAA Radar Sites Sources: Administrator's Fact Book, Federal Aviation Administration, May 2019, archived 4 Jun 2019, Pdf 2017-2026 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan, Federal Aviation Administration, 2017, archived 5 Jun 2019, Pdf Air Traffic by the Numbers, Federal Aviation Administration, 2018, archived 5 Jun 2019, Pdf Computer system to Improve air safety unveiled in LA, The Napa Valley Register (Napa, California), 11 Mar 1988, page 20, archived 7 Jul 2019. Links: Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZOA) Wikipedia - Joint Surveillance System Wikipedia - Houston ARTCC Visited: No