\n<\/p>\n
As a passenger on a plane coming into land, do you ever get a sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu?<\/p>\n
You\u2019re excited to have your feet back on solid ground so you can head home or get the holiday started. But that bridge down there\u2026 you\u2019re sure you\u2019ve seen it before \u2013 and that tower\u2026<\/p>\n
No, this isn\u2019t Groundhog Day. What you\u2019re experiencing is called Holding \u2013 a common practice where aircraft circle within a specified area before landing.<\/p>\n
For air traffic controllers (ATCOs), holds are a standard procedure for managing traffic flow into an airport and maintaining safe separation between aircraft. These racetrack-shaped flight patterns allow aircraft to be held at different altitudes while the pilot awaits further instructions from air traffic control (ATC).<\/p>\n
Holds are particularly important at airports with high traffic volumes to help maintain a safe and efficient landing sequence. They\u2019re not exclusively used at busy airports or during peak hours but also for various operational reasons, such as weather conditions or runway changes.<\/p>\n
In a hold, aircraft are \u201cstacked\u201d at different altitudes above a fixed point. Aircraft typically enter at the top of the hold, usually around 15,000ft, and leave from the base at around 7,000ft. With levels normally vertically separated by 1,000ft, this means up to eight aircraft can potentially hold at any one time.<\/p>\n
ATC instructs the pilot what level to enter the hold at, when to descend to the next level and when to leave the hold to continue their approach to land.<\/p>\n