The North Atlantic Tracks, officially the North Atlantic Organised Track System, are a structured set of transatlantic flight routes stretching from eastern North America to western Europe across the Atlantic Ocean, within the North Atlantic airspace region. They exist to keep aircraft separated over the ocean, where there is little radar coverage, and are used by the large volume of air traffic flying between North America and Europe. While it was formerly required that all aircraft file and fly a track to cross the ocean, this is no longer mandatory, though air traffic control retains the right to override a flight plan and require an aircraft to fly a track.
Facts
Established Year Route TypeStructured transatlantic aviation track system 1 TerminiEastern North America and Western Europe, across the North Atlantic 1 Operational StatusActive, no longer mandatory for all aircraft crossing the ocean, though air traffic control retains authority to require a flight to fly a track 1 Operational Status
Operational Status (category) Sources
1. Wikipedia: North Atlantic Tracks
WikipediaHistory section, on the 1965 start of daily NAT Tracks publicationQuote, History section, on the 1965 start of daily NAT Tracks publication
In 1965, the publication of NAT Tracks became a daily feature, allowing controllers to force traffic onto fixed track structures in order to effectively separate the aircraft by time, altitude, and latitude.
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