15 Air Traffic Control

15 Air Traffic Control (15 ATC), an integral component of the Chief of Staff Branch of 15 Wing, was established with the reactivation of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Moose Jaw in 1952, following its closure as a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan aerodrome at the end of the Second World War.

15 ATC is comprised of two military control units: Aerodrome and Terminal. The ATC team consists of approximately 45 RCAF, one DND and three civilian contracted personnel, most of who are Tower, Terminal/Arrival, Ground and Precision Approach Radar (PAR) controllers. Their job is to ensure the safe, orderly and expeditious movement of all air traffic at the Royal Canadian Air Forces’ busiest Wing.

Throughout its history the 15 ATC has established many records, both military and civilian, for its ability to control aircraft. In 1966, 15 ATC controlled 216,274 movements, which made it the busiest airport (civilian or military) in Canada.

On May 27, 1977, 15 ATC controlled a total of 3,301 aircraft takeoffs and landings in a 24-hour period, thereby setting an all-time North American record that has since not been surpassed.

In 2013, 15 ATC controlled a total of 146,419 aircraft movements, which is the highest traffic level experienced in one year since the 2000 inception of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) Program.

In the last 10 years, 15 Wing has consistently ranked as the busiest Wing in the RCAF and amongst the top 13 busiest airports in Canada (civilian or military).

These figures are all the more remarkable when one considers that 15 Wing is operational for a limited number of hours daily from Monday to Friday and not on a 24-hour basis as are all other RCAF Wings and most other civilian airports.

Striving daily to safely fulfill their motto - "Eyes On The Sky" - the men and women of 15 ATC pride themselves on being the guardians of not only the RCAF's assets, but also of NATO's premier military pilot training airspace.