Definition
An air traffic control area of responsibility that handles aircraft arriving at one or more airports within a defined block of airspace. Controllers working an arrival sector sequence and separate inbound traffic, issue descent clearances, and hand aircraft off to the approach controller serving the destination airport.
Plain English
A specific chunk of airspace, owned by one controller (or team), where the job is to manage aircraft on their way down and in toward an airport.
Context Anchor
Seen in air traffic control, instrument procedures, and arrival planning when aircraft are being organized before landing or before joining an approach.
Derivation
‘Sector’ comes from the Latin ‘secare,’ meaning ‘to cut.’ A sector is a slice of something larger — in this case, a slice of controlled airspace cut out and assigned to a specific controller for a specific purpose (arrivals).
Why Pilots Care
Proper use of arrival sectors keeps inbound traffic separated and flowing smoothly, reducing delays and the risk of conflicts near busy airports.
Intuition Check
Do not think of an arrival sector as a gate, ramp, or part of the airport surface. It is a defined area of airspace used by aircraft approaching from a particular direction.
Example Sentence 1
After leaving cruise altitude, the flight was handed off to the arrival sector controller for descent into the terminal area.
Example Sentence 2
During peak hours the facility splits the airspace into two arrival sectors to handle the increased flow.