Definition
An air traffic control facility that is transferring control of an aircraft to another ATC facility.
Plain English
The ATC facility currently working an aircraft and handing it off to the next facility.
Context Anchor
Used in air traffic control coordination, especially when a flight moves from one controller’s area to another during an IFR flight or flight following.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures continuous separation and safe transition when an aircraft moves from one controller's airspace to another's.
Intuition Check
Do not read “facility” as just a building at an airport. In this context, it means an air traffic control unit, such as a tower, center, or approach control. “Transferring” means passing control responsibility, not physically moving the aircraft.
Example Sentence 1
As the flight neared the boundary, the transferring facility coordinated the handoff with the next center before issuing a frequency change.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot was informed that control was being transferred from the approach facility to the center.