The Principles and Organization of Air Traffic in Military Operations: Experiences from the Mission in Iraq

This article analyzes the principles and organization of the operation of the military runways used by Polish and Allied aircrafts during missions in Iraq. The main goal of the article is to describe the organization and method of air traffic management by the Polish air traffic controllers (ATC). It depicts the method of planning and preparing aviation operations, the principles of air traffic organization, which were the responsibility of the Polish controllers, and the rules for the traffic above the airstrip. Among the particular problems that are discussed, there are the rules of airspace segmentation, the introduced solutions for air traffic control, and the use of airport infrastructure. The experiences discussed include valuable information regarding the process of securing air traffic that can be helpful in the organization of landing pad sand in preparation of both Polish and allied military contingent aviation personnel for future aboard operations. This paper presents the results of the research carried out with the ATC personnel performing tasks in Iraq.