Each year, approximately 500,000 messages are dispatched from the Centre, of which 65% are on VHF frequencies.Īnother area of activity for the Gufunes Communications Centre is data communications with aircraft. There is also one transmitter and receiver in Söndreström on Greenland’s west coast. HF transmitter equipment is located in the town of Grindavík and at Bessastaðir in the West Húnaþing region, with receivers located at Þverholt in Borgarfjörður, at Garðskagaviti and on the west coast of Norway. In the Faroe Islands, the equipment is located on the island of Fugloy, and in Greenland it is located at the Dye One and Dye Four stations. In Iceland, VHF equipment is located at Mt Gagnheiði, Mt Háfell, Mt Háöxl, Mt Þorbjörn and Mt Þverfjall. VHF GP service is provided at three frequencies: 126.55 MHz, 127.85 MHz and 129.75 MHz. Iceland’s geographical position provides a certain uniqueness, since by installing VHF equipment in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, the Gufunes Communications Centre can offer a continuous VHF service area over the North Atlantic. VHF connections commonly have a range of some 250 nautical miles. This makes it important to position the equipment as high up as possible to increase range.

However, the transmission range of VHF is only a fraction of that of HF and is limited to little more than line of sight. Pilots generally prefer to communicate on VHF frequencies rather than HF because listening conditions on VHF are far superior. It has a total of eight working positions to handle air/ground communications.The HF service is provided in three frequency groups: The Gufunes Communications Centre provides a 24-hour service on HF and VHF GP frequencies.

Information provided to Airline Operations Centres (AOCs).

Air traffic control clearances from the Area Control Centre.

Pilot requests for changes in altitude, speed or route.

Position reports from aircraft at cleared reporting points.

The most common services are the following: The radio operator receives messages from the controller and forwards them to the aircraft in question and vice versa. In oceanic air traffic control, the communications centres handle radio communications with pilots, except when the aircraft is under radar control. The part of the Communications Centre that handles air/ground communications is far more extensive and requires more manpower. Operational management of the system is in the hands of a watch officer at Gufunes, with technical support provided by the Air Navigation Services division. In Iceland, it is connected to the Area Control Centre, Keflavik Airport and various aircraft operators’ facilities. The switch at Gufunes is connected to comparable switches in London, Norway, Canada and Greenland. The AFTN/CIDIN switch forms part of the international aviation-related message distribution system. In very broad terms, the Gufunes Communications Centre’s activities can be divided into two main categories: (1) radio communications with aircraft in flight (Aeronautical Mobile Service or AMS) and (2) the operation of an AFTN/CIDIN message switch (Aeronautical Fixed Service or AFS). The average number of messages processed per 24 hours that year was 1,329, but during the four busiest air traffic days in the Icelandic control area, the average daily number was 4,609.

Messages from aircraft are transmitted, as the case may be, to area control centres, meteorological offices and aircraft operators.Īir/ground communications staff came under considerable pressure during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010.

The communications are conducted in English and mainly involve the receipt and transmission of messages relating to aviation safety, such as position fixing, various changes in altitude, speed or route, weather messages, information on landing conditions at airports, etc. Our Communications Centre at Gufunes maintains voice communications on HF and VHF frequencies in close co-operation with the Ballygirreen Radio Station in Ireland. Our services ensure effective and secure communications between aircraft, area control centres, aircraft operators, meteorological offices and other parties involved in air traffic.

The service area consists primarily of the Reykjavik Air Traffic Control Area.

If you are within reliable listening range (<6 mi/10km) of an airport please consider becoming a LiveATC feeder site.Communications with aircraft transiting the North Atlantic are an important part of Isavia’s international air services. Third-party use of LiveATC live audio streams is prohibited. Lots of new and exciting feeds coming online! If you would like to expand coverage in your region of the world please contact us Listen to Live ATC (Air Traffic Control) Communications |

Air traffic radio frequencies