What is the difference between 'Center' and 'Approach' in air traffic control terminology?

• A. Center handles ground operations.
• B. Center handles en route traffic; Approach handles arrivals and departures to airports.
• C. Center handles weather reports.
• D. Center handles taxi instructions.

Answer: (B)

In air traffic control, the scope and phase of flight determine who handles you. Centers manage en route traffic across large regions at cruise altitude, steering aircraft as they travel between airports and keeping safe separation over long distances. Approach controllers, on the other hand, work in the terminal area around a specific airport, guiding arriving aircraft and managing departures to sequence people onto final approaches and into the airport system.

That’s why this option is the best match: it correctly assigns Center to en route traffic and Approach to arrivals and departures to airports. The other statements mix in functions that belong to different positions—ground control handles taxiing on the airport surface, weather information is provided by meteorological sources and airport services (like ATIS), and Center is not responsible for weather reports or ground/taxi instructions.