Real Time ATC

ATC Live

American Flying Adventures is proud to offer a 24/7 real-time audio feed of St. Petersburg/ Clearwater International Airport's most important radio frequencies. See behind the scenes at one of medium busy airport. Listen to live transmissions between air traffic controllers in the airport tower and pilots landing and departing from the airport. Click on the links below to listen.

The control tower at 'St. Pete' Airport continually broadcasts information about operational and weather conditions at the airport. This is called the Aerodrome Terminal Information Service - ATIS. It is a continuous broadcast of recorded non-control information in busier terminal (i.e. airport) areas. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as weather information, which runways are active, available approaches, and any other information required by the flight crew. Pilots usually listen to an available ATIS broadcast before contacting the local control tower, in order to reduce the controllers' workload and relieve frequency congestion. The recording is updated when there is a significant change in the information, like a change in the active runway. It is given a letter designation (e.g. bravo), from the Phonetic Alphabet. The letter progresses down the alphabet and starts at Alpha each day. When contacting the control tower or ground station, a pilot will indicate he/she has "information" and the ATIS identification letter to let the controller know that the pilot is up to date with all current information.

Ground Control is responsible for the airport "maneuvering" areas, or areas not released to aircraft. This generally includes all taxiways, holding areas, and some transitional aprons or intersections where aircraft arrive having vacated the runway and departure gates. Any aircraft, vehicle, or person walking or working in these areas is required to have clearance from the ground controller. Most aircraft and airside vehicles have radios. Ground control is vital to the smooth operation of the airport because this position might constrain the order in which the aircraft will be sequenced to depart, which can affect the safety and efficiency of the airport's operation.

The Tower is responsible for the active runway surfaces. It clears aircraft for take off or landing and ensures the runway is clear for these aircraft. St. Pete Tower controls the Class D airspace which reaches out on a 5 miles radius from the center of the airport. The controller helps to separate and sequence all aircraft in this area, using a remote radar link from Tampa Airport. For example, if the tower controller detects any unsafe condition, a landing aircraft will be told to "go-around" and will be again sequenced into the landing pattern by the tower controller. Within the tower, a highly disciplined communications process between tower and ground control is an absolute necessity to guarantee coordination and a smooth operation.

Tampa airport has a radar control facility that is associated also with our airport. It's known under the name of Approach Control. It handles both, departures and arrivals. It is also referred to as a TRACON or Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol facility. Tampa has a Class B airspace which also overlays KPIE airport since we are only about 10 miles afar from Tampa. Approach controllers are responsible for providing all ATC services within their airspace. Traffic flow is broadly divided into departures, arrivals, over-flights, and VFR aircraft. As aircraft move in and out of the terminal airspace, they are handed off to the next appropriate control facility (a control tower, an en-route control facility, or a bordering terminal or approach control). Terminal control is responsible for ensuring that aircraft are at an appropriate altitude when they are handed off, and that aircraft arrive at a suitable rate for landing.