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How do I request landing clearance from ATC?

Last Updated

Alpha 3.23.1

Information on this page may be outdated.

Info

To keep traffic flowing through spaceports and stations around the 'verse, every location where you can store and retrieve your vehicles has an Air Traffic Control (ATC) that gives landing or take-off permissions to all pilots.

If you try to land in a hangar that is controlled by ATC without permission, your ship can be temporarily impounded to keep doors and flight-paths clear for other players.

Contacting ATC when you are close to your destination will assign you a dedicated hangar where you can land, repair & refuel, and give you a HUD marker to guide you in if you're unfamiliar with the location.

Calling ATC

  1. Approach to within ATC range of your destination. You will know that you are close enough when a "Contact ATC" warning shows on your HUD, and the name of the local ATC (e.g. "NBIS Spaceport") shows on your Comms MFD.

    Note: It is recommmended to move within 5km of your destination before calling ATC as the marker for your hangar may not appear until you are that close.

  2. Contact ATC

    • Press the "Request ATC" keybind (L Alt + N).
    • Locate your Comms MFD. If no MFD is set to Comms, select it from the Menu.

    • Find the ATC channel for your destination - it is usually named after the spaceport or station, and is typically near the top of the list.

      Note: Some spaceports, such as at jump points and above cities, have an extra Cargo channel; don't use this one.

    • Click the Open Channel icon on the right-hand side.

    • Open your Communications app (F11)
    • Click Friends.

    • Find the ATC channel for your destination - it is usually named after the spaceport or station, and is typically near the top of the list.

      Note: Some spaceports, such as at jump points and above cities, have an extra Cargo channel; don't use this one.

    • Click the Open Channel icon on the right-hand side.

  3. ATC will respond with confirmation when you are assigned a hangar; you may receive a negative response if no hangars are available, or a short chirp if ATC is overloaded.

  4. An icon will appear on your HUD showing the location of your hangar. The icon is a circle with a downward-pointing chevron.

  5. Fly to the marker and park your ship.

Cancelling Permission

Flying a distance away from the landing area, or contacting ATC more than once can cancel your landing permission, so be careful of accidentally pressing the keybind more than once and having the hangar doors close on you.