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Phrase Differences USA Canada

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Airspace, General Aviation, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

Is there a difference between contacting "Terminal" vs "Departure"?

I'm based in Canada and so far have not used the word "Departure" when passing from tower through terminal to enroute. I was curious if this is a cross-border difference due to the higher traffic and need to differentiate departing vs arriving aircraft.

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2 Answers



  1. John D Collins on Feb 24, 2021

    Around my airport KUZA, a satellite non-towered airport of KCLT, the frequencies are split on the charts with separate Approach control and Departure control frequencies. However, I often get both services on the same frequency. At the main airport, KCLT with vastly more traffic, there are separate ATIS frequencies for departure and arrival and I would expect that different controllers would be handling approach and departure operations at the same time and would be on separate frequencies. I don’t think anyone would get upset if you addressed an approach control frequency as Charlotte Departure or visa versa.

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  2. awair on Feb 24, 2021

    And just to add to the confusion, in Australia you will often contact “Departure” on arrival. Whereas the opposite seems to apply in Europe!

    As John said, they tend not to get too upset. I believe the call-sign is more to help pilots differentiate that they are receiving a service from a Terminal controller, rather than Center or En-route.

    Enjoy!

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