Date: 201910
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: ZMP.ARTCC, MN
Aircraft: Military
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Climb
Airspace: Class A ZMP; Class E ZMP
ATC / advisory: Center ZMP
Reporter organization: Government
Reporter function: Enroute
Reporter qualification: Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Human factors: Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Situational Awareness; Workload
Anomaly: ATC Issue All Types; Airspace Violation All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Air Traffic Control
Result: Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic
Contributing factors: Airspace Structure; Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: I was working Sectors 8 and 9 combined yesterday with normal traffic. Due to VIP movement at MSP; there was seldom used military airspace that was active FL180 to FL230. Most of the controllers working that evening received a verbal briefing a couple of hours before the airspace was scheduled to go active because all of us had never cleared aircraft into military airspace before. During the briefing; we were told the altitudes that we were required to issue; and the bottom altitude was FL180. The altimeters had been low all day making FL180 unusable. When I sat down to take the sector; the airspace was hot and M98 TRACON started launching a bunch of departures off MSP. They all checked in with me at or climbing to 17;000 ft. I asked the Front Line Manager why the departures were climbing to 17;000 ft. when the airspace directly above was hot at FL180 with low altimeters and he didn't know but advised me that he would call M98. After a few minutes; he came back to me and told me 'Just watch the limited data blocks in the military airspace and make sure they don't descend below about 18;300 ft. MSL and you should be fine.' I advised him that when military airspace is hot; we miss the airspace; not the aircraft in it. It was also very hard to see 6 limited data blocks on top of M98; especially when they were running a 30 mile downwind and final when there were probably close to 40 other limited data blocks in the same 30-mile ring around MSP below the airspace. I voiced my opposition to his reasoning and he shrugged his shoulders; said he didn't think it was an issue and walked away. This same unsafe practice continued for the duration of my shift. My guess is I had maybe 15-20 aircraft that were given to me level at 17;000 ft. directly under the military airspace active at FL180 with low altimeters. With altimeters low and FL180 unusable; the military airspace should have never been active at FL180. The altimeters were low all day and plans should have been changed; but the controller was directed by management that the airspace be activated and the aircraft cleared into the airspace from FL180 to FL230. I was not the controller that cleared the aircraft into the airspace; but I heard the briefing from an Operations Manager stating this and the direction from the Front Line Manager to the controller.




Synopsis: ZMP Controller reported being directed to control traffic at 170 below military airspace at FL180; which was unusable.