New Airspace
 

          Changes to air traffic growth over the years in Alaska Region created inefficiencies that were recognized at  Anchorage Center before the ATOP program was established.  An airspace reorganization effort was begun, which happened coincide with the award of the ATOP contract to Lockheed-Martin, and which allowed the capabilities of the ATOP system to be folded in as an integral part of the new airspace plan.

      The Center's airspace  was divided into 15 numbered sectors, which were grouped into two "specialties" - East and West.  Controllers at Anchorage Center specialized in either the East or West specialty; thus, they often referred to each other as "east-siders" or as "west-siders". 

          On 1 May 2003, Anchorage ARTCC transitioned from two specialties to three new specialties, known as "North", "South", and "High", respectively.  There are still 15 sectors overall - five per specialty - and many of the lateral boundaries remain unchanged.  The major difference between this airspace and the prior airspace plan is altitude stratification.  New equipment and software allow the Center to effectively "stack" one sector over all or a portion of another sector in altitude.  The new ATOP equipment will initially support the sectors in the High specialty.

The North Specialty
 

The South Specialty
 

The High Specialty
 

Composite of all three specialties
 

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