Aerodrome and Approach Control Operations
Aerodrome control
Tower responsibilities include runway use, take-off and landing clearances, traffic circuit management, and control of vehicles and personnel on the manoeuvring area. Know the meaning of "cleared for take-off", "cleared to land", "line up and wait", and conditional clearances. Runway incursion prevention is central: never issue a landing clearance with an occupied runway.
Approach control
Approach control sequences arrivals, issues approach clearances, and coordinates with tower and area control. Know the types of approach: visual, instrument, precision and non-precision, and the role of the surveillance approach. Know the meaning of "cleared for the approach" versus "cleared to land", and the conditions for a visual approach.
Traps in questions
A common trap is assuming an approach clearance includes landing clearance. Another is issuing a conditional clearance that is ambiguous. Questions also test the order of priority for runway use and the handling of go-arounds, which become tower responsibility until the aircraft leaves the tower's area.
Rule of thumb
Separate the phases: approach clearance, landing clearance, and runway vacation. Worked example: an aircraft is cleared for an ILS approach but not to land. The tower issues landing clearance only when the runway is clear and the aircraft is on final; if the runway is occupied, the tower instructs a go-around and the aircraft reverts to approach control coordination.