Air Traffic Control Air Traffic Control M inneapolis Center is responsible for the safe, orderly and expeditious movement of aircraft within its airspace. As shown on the map on the home page, this airspace covers parts of nine different states plus a small portion of Canada.
Sectors have vertical as well as horizontal boundaries.
A few sectors extend from the ground up, but most areas are stratified, with the lowest sectors defined from the ground to 23,000 feet, with another sector above from 24,000 feet and up. In some cases, a third sector may be defined for 37,000 feet and up. One or two controllers are directly responsible for separating the aircraft within their sector. Each sector has a unique radio frequency which the controller uses to communicate with the pilots. As aircraft transition from one sector to another, they are instructed to change to the frequency of the next sector.