MLIT to abolish Sapporo Area Control Center in effort to increase traffic processing capacity

En-Route Aircraft
Japan currently has four area control centers.

Sapporo Area Control Center will be abolished and its function consolidated into Tokyo Area Control Center amid efforts to increase the en-route aircraft processing capacity, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on September 24, 2024.

The change will take effect on October 1, 2024, when the remaining three area control centers (ACC), Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Kobe, will become in charge of controlling en-route traffic across Japan. At the same time, Fukuoka Area Control Center’s organization will be strengthened through an addition of a Deputy Director position.

Currently, the responsibilities of the four ACCs are broken down as follows:

  • Sapporo ACC: En-route aircraft flying over land north of Tokyo ACC at “lower high altitudes” (33,500 feet and less)
  • Tokyo ACC: En-route aircraft flying over land at “lower high altitudes” between Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures in the north and Aichi Prefecture and Ise Peninsula in the south, as well as those flying at “higher high altitudes” and over sea in certain areas
  • Fukuoka ACC: “Higher high altitude” traffic and aircraft flying over sea in areas not controlled by Tokyo ACC
  • Kobe ACC: En-route aircraft flying over land at “lower high altitudes” west of Tokyo ACC and north of the central part of Okinawa’s main island

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