Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center

{{Short description|Air traffic control center}}

File:Oakland ARTCC.jpg

Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZOA), (radio communications, "Oakland Center") is one of 22 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (2010, April 28). Air route traffic control centers. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/air_traffic_services/artcc/ Area Control Centers in the United States. It is located at 5125 Central Ave, Fremont, California, roughly 25 miles southeast of downtown Oakland in the East Bay.StuckMic.com. (2012). California Air Traffic Control Facilities. Retrieved from http://www.stuckmic.com/california-air-traffic-control-facilities.html

The primary responsibility of Oakland Center is sequencing and separation of over-flights, arrivals, and departures, in order to provide safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of aircraft filed under instrument flight rules (IFR).

Oakland Center is the 17th busiest ARTCC in the United States. In 2024, Oakland Center handled 1,738,338 aircraft.{{Cite web |title=Air Traffic Activity System (ATADS) |url=http://aspm.faa.gov/opsnet/sys/Center.asp |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250203191006/https://aspm.faa.gov/opsnet/sys/Center.asp |archive-date=2025-02-03 |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=aspm.faa.gov}} Domestically, KZOA Center{{cite web|title=Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZOA)|url=https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/air_traffic_services/artcc/oakland/|website=www.faa.gov|publisher=FAA|accessdate=14 February 2018|language=en-us}} covers approximately 140,000 square miles of the Western United States, including parts of California, and Nevada, and KZAK Oceanic also covers 18.7 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 9.5% of the Earth's total surface area, making this the largest Area Control Center in the world by controlled surface area.{{cite web|last=Federal Aviation Administration|title=Facility Orientation Guide: Oakland ARTCC|url=http://www.stuckmic.com/faa-facility-orientation-guides.html|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|accessdate=18 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424045847/http://www.stuckmic.com/faa-facility-orientation-guides.html|archive-date=24 April 2013|url-status=dead}}

Oakland Center lies adjacent to 21 different domestic air facilities, including Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center, Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center, and Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center. ZOA overlies or abuts several approach control facilities (including Northern California TRACON).{{cite web|last=Federal Aviation Administration|title=Facility Orientation Guide: Oakland ARTCC|url=http://www.stuckmic.com/faa-facility-orientation-guides.html|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|accessdate=18 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424045847/http://www.stuckmic.com/faa-facility-orientation-guides.html|archive-date=24 April 2013|url-status=dead}}