ATC Surveillance Minimum Altitude Charts in UK Airspace Policy and Design Criteria

CAP 777, defines the responsibilities, purpose and parameters involved when constructing and revising an Air Traffic Control Surveillance Minimum Altitude Chart (ATCSMAC).

The main purpose of the charts are to ensure the appropriate minimum safe levels, in the vicinity of a defined area around the aerodrome (Surveillance Minimum Altitude Area) are promulgated in order to relieve controllers of the responsibility for determining the heights where the sequencing and separation of arriving IFR flights with Primary and/or Secondary Surveillance RADAR is taking place. They also provide pilots with an indication of the minimum altitudes which ATC will allocate when vectoring an aircraft below the published Minimum Sector Altitude (MSA).

Appendix D (ATCSMAC Approval Spreadsheet) is available as CAP777D.