In the Northern Control Area north of 75° latitude, at which position intervals would you report to ATC for northbound/southbound and eastbound/westbound travel?

• A. 5, 20
• B. 10, 10
• C. 5, 5
• D. 15, 20

Answer: (A)

In polar airspace, ATC position reporting intervals are tailored to the flight direction to keep surveillance effective. Because meridians converge as you go toward the pole, northbound and southbound traffic can cross longitude lines rapidly, so ATC requires more frequent position updates to maintain accurate tracking and separation. Eastbound and westbound traffic travels along high-latitude parallels where ground distance covered in a given time changes differently, so a longer interval is acceptable.

Therefore, the reporting interval is five minutes for northbound/southbound travel and twenty minutes for eastbound/westbound travel.