Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDC) (radio communications, "Washington Center") is an Area Control Center operated by the Federal Aviation Administration and located at Lawson Rd SE, Leesburg, Virginia, United States. The primary responsibility of ZDC is the separation of airplane flights and the expedited sequencing of arrivals and departures along STARs (Standard Terminal Arrival Routes) and SIDs (Standard Instrument Departures) for the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area, the New York Metropolitan Area, and Philadelphia among many other areas.

Washington Center is the fourth busiest ARTCC in the United States. In 2024, Washington Center handled 2,468,399 aircraft operations.Federal Aviation Administration. (2025). Air Traffic Activity System (ATADS). Retrieved from https://aspm.faa.gov/opsnet/sys/Center.asp The Washington ARTCC covers of airspace that includes airports in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Basic breakdown of sectors ZDC is divided into 8 areas, numbered 1 through 8, that make up 46 sectors. They are mainly broken down into low altitude, intermediate, high altitude and Super High Altitude sectors. There are 18 low sectors, 14 high sectors, 5 super high sectors and 4 various other type sectors, including 1 high/low altitude sector and 3 intermediate altitude sectors.

AREA 1 Super-high sectors 72 Shenandoah SHD 127.925 MHz/269.375 MHz 07 Wahoo WAH 121.925 MHz/346.375 MHz

During periods of traffic saturation in the Shenandoah Sector, ZDC will split the Shenandoah sector into two sectors, making Wahoo a second Super High Sector over the Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia areas. Shenandoah normally overlaps the Tech High and Gordonsville High Sectors above FL330. When traffic demand is high, Wahoo is activated to overlap the Gordonsville High Sector above FL330 covering Q75 from GVE VOR south while Shenandoah will overlap Tech High Sector above FL 330 and cover traffic on Q40 from CSN VOR south, Q103 south of ASBUR and Q69 from ZTL boundary to ILLSA.

High sectors 32 Gordonsville GVE 133.725/351.900 52 Tech TEC 133.575/270.350

Intermediate sectors 60 Montebello MOL 121.675/284.700

Low sectors 31 Azalea AZA 135.400/263.100

AREA 2 High sectors 36 Raleigh RDU 118.925/322.450

Low sectors 26 Sampson SAM 135.300/285.500 27 Liberty LIB 135.200/348.650 28 Rocky Mount RMT 118.475/279.650

AREA 3 High sectors 37 Marlinton MAR 133.025/323.025

Low sectors 02 Casanova CSN 133.200/282.200 05 Linden LDN 133.550/322.550 22 South Boston SBV 124.050/352.000 29 NEW Valley VAL (formerly Hot Springs HSP)134.400/353.900

Sector 30 OLD Valley VAL has been changed to NEW 72 Shenandoah SHD Super Hi Sector in Area 1 above. Old Valley Sector merged into Sector 29 Hot Springs.

AREA 4 Super-high sectors 42 Bryce BRY 118.025/226.675

High sectors 03 Moorefield MOR 133.275/371.900 04 Pinion PIN 133.975/307.025

Low sectors 01 Elkins EKN 128.600/387.100 06 Hagerstown HGR 134.150/227.125 15 Blue Ridge BLR 133.650/285.600

AREA 5 Super-high sectors 39 Snow Hill SWL 121.375/236.825 50 Yorktown YKT 120.75/317.725

High sectors 34 Norfolk ORF 133.825/327.800 54 Salisbury SBY 120.975/257.700

Low sectors 23 Cape Charles CCV 132.550/256.80 51 Casino CAS 127.700/285.400 53 Kenton ENO 132.050/354.150

AREA 6 Super-high sectors 09 Dixon DIW 118.825/360.650

High sectors 35 Wilmington ILM 124.025/269.150 38 Tar River TYI 132.225/354.100

Low sectors 24 Cofield CVI 123.850/323.000 25 New Bern EWN 135.500/281.425 33 Franklin FKN 132.025/290.425

AREA 7 High-altitude sectors 10 Bay BAY 132.275/379.300 12 Brooke BRV 126.875/327.000 16 Hopewell HPW 121.875/323.225

Intermediate sectors 11 Calvert CAL 133.900/281.400 20 Blackstone BKT 127.750/235.625

Low sectors 14 Irons IRS 132.950/351.800 21 Dominion DOM 118.750/377.100

AREA 8 High sectors 58 Coyle CYN 121.025/254.300 59 Sea Isle SIE 133.125/281.450

High-low sectors 19 Woodstown OOD 125.450/363.000 18 DuPont DQO 132.525/287.900

Low sectors 17 Swann SWN 134.500/360.700

References

External links Washington ARTCC on IVAO Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center Washington Center Weather Service Unit (CWSU) (NWS/FAA)