Is It Illegal To Listen To US ATC If You Live In The UK?

Question

I heard of a site that offers live ATC from across the world but It does seem a bit dogdgy. I was tempted but decided not to until I got confirmation I wasn't breaking any laws.

Answer 1

Well, this is the US version of YA, so you are going to get mostly answers from people who live in the USA.  Our radio rules are pretty simple, you cannot listen to anything that is coded or on a restricted frequency.  You are also restricted from listening to cell phone calls.  Of course, many people do it, it's just illegal.  There are no restrictions on listening to ATC and pilots.  Many US companies sell radios just to listen to them.  Of course, that may be different in the UK.  I would click on the little UK flag on the bottom of the screen and ask again there.  Good luck.

Answer 2

There's nothing at all illegal about it. If you're listening over a computer there's no way that you'll be able to step on, or make any transmissions at all. Go ahead, listen all you want. You're not breaking any laws at all.

Answer 3

The first guy is CORRECT

Answer 4

It's legal for anybody to listen to ATC transmissions, and you don't need a radio to do it. Try:

www.Liveatc.net

I live in Orlando (KMCO and KORL) and we have pretty busy airspace. It is always interesting to hear the professional pilots speak and to hear how quickly they get on and off the radio. On the other hand, if you don't know their lingo you will probably be lost. Letters have names such as "Whiskey" or "November", and pilots speak in a sort of shorthand, eliminating lengthy sentences as as "my altitude is", or "I would prefer to land on Runway 18L".

American flight patterns and rules are pretty well documented and public knowledge (see, for instance, faa.gov or  skyvector.com). These are so public, in fact, that you can use pretty much the same charts and radio lingo in Microsoft Flight Simulator. There really isn't much you can learn from ATC radio transmissions besides good radio communication skills, which are rather useful for us low-hour private pilots.

Answer 5

Not certain about U.K. law but it is not illegal in the U.S. to just listen to A.T.C. transmissions.

Indeed many Airport observation areas and at least one major U.S. Airline offer this service to the public and their passengers.

However as a Pilot let me state that no one should ever make unauthorized transmissions or attempt to interfere with these transmissions in any way. You could endanger hundreds of lives and the penalties for doing so are severe and rightfully so.

I recommend aviation enthusiasts and aspiring pilots check out "live atc.com" follow the guidelines and enjoy.

Answer 6

It's not illegal to listen to it, it's illegal to act on the information you heard though