Definition
An air traffic control facility that provides radar and non-radar services to arriving and departing IFR aircraft, and to participating VFR aircraft, within a defined airspace area surrounding one or more airports. Approach control hands aircraft off to the tower for landing and receives them from the en route center (ARTCC) on arrival, or from the tower on departure before passing them to the center.
Plain English
The controllers who guide arriving planes down toward the airport and line them up for landing, and who handle departing planes for the first part of their climb out before passing them to the higher-level en route controllers.
Context Anchor
Pilots commonly see APP on airport charts, radio frequency lists, and aviation notices where an approach control frequency or service is listed.
Why Pilots Care
Contacting approach control ensures proper sequencing, traffic separation, and safe routing into busy airspace around airports.
Intuition Check
Do not read approach control as the pilot’s landing technique. Here, approach control means the air traffic control service that handles aircraft near an airport.
Example Sentence 1
Ten miles out, the tower handed us off to approach control for sequencing behind a regional jet.
Example Sentence 2
APP issued a descent clearance and handed the flight off to the tower for landing.