Holiday time--seperate or linking freqs

[Jonathan_tcu]

Here in northern Ontario, during the 2 weeks of the Xmas/holiday season, I'm happy to say that half of the regular company airline flights are reduced to a capacity of that like a weekend schedule.  With this being said, Toronto Center has kept Mooseonee 133.72, Timmins 128.3, along  with the Sudbury/North Bay 135.5 and 127.25 respectively linked up.  It still makes me wonder of the 4 different voices that change around every 45 to 90 min's which one of those would have worked the 2 split sectors.  

    My question is how many of the Live ATC listeners are noticing their airspace linking regularly split freq's during peak periods because of the holidays?  I  know Montreal Ctr here for 133.97, 120.72, etc is still business as usual and links up 119.4 with the Timmins Hi Alt airspace after 11pm local or 0400z.  

I've been monitoring Toronto Ctr online and noticed the same thing as when I was monitoring Peterborough (CYPQ's) airspace the last 2 years of my annual visits.

[Scrapper]

What you describe above doesn't have so much to do with the holidays as with the reduced traffic during the holiday season... except on the busy peak travel days, if you look up say Montreal Airport's website (Aeroports de Montreal) you will notice that there are much less arrivals and departures right now then you will find if you look up the same web site say in the first or second week of January...  Each centre always decides how many controlles to sit in which positions depending on the volume of traffic... so for example a less busy centre can have one guy (or girl) doing both radar control and handling the data position whereas a very busy centre or terminal area can have one controller for the north, one for the south, one for the final approach area, one for vfr traffic transitting through the terminal area, as well as additional personnel to assist with transfers to other controllers and data information...

[Jonathan_tcu]

That makes sense to me.  I just like trying to discover this whole ATC staffing thing and as I 've mentioned in the past, hearing 3 or more different voices rotating in a one hour time frame for 1 or 2 airspaces.  Thanks again.  

[MIAMIATC]

Johnathan I was wondering while I was listening to YYZ center I heard a new freq. for YUL center of 134.4. Did this freq replace 135.6 ??

[Jonathan_tcu]

That freq 135.6 is currently a Montreal trasmitter, west sub unit section for the sector named Thurso.  I don't get to hear that.  And I haven't seen on Canairradio's website for a new freq 134.4.

[MIAMIATC]

I have heard Int flights heading out over the pond being haded off to this freq. from YYZ at FL's 310-350 I am guessing from either 134.575 or 124.675

[Jonathan_tcu]

124.67 is the Picton sector out of Toronto.  And when I was in Peterborough, most often, aircraft in the climb to hi altitude switched from either East Radar's or the prior sector, to the Barrie hi altitude sector on 134.57 which is probably quite busy.  Any other eastbound sector will call Montreal ctr which is probably 134.4  Perhaps you're talking about that one huh?

[JetScan1]

Montreal seems to keep changing their frequencies in this area. Right now they are using 134.400 in the Aylmer sector, that's the high sector (FL290 and above) adjacent to Toronto 134.575/124.675, it extends from the FIR boundary eastbound to the Montreal area. In the recent past they were using 135.600 for Aylmer and 134.400 for the Thurso sector. The Thurso sector is the low (FL280 and below) one between Montreal and the Ottawa VOR, where right now they are using 128.775. DJ

[Jonathan_tcu]

This might sound redundant, but Montreal Ctr either seems to follow the same staffing procedure and splits 119.4 from 133.97 at noon local time or 17 zulu until 23 local or 0400 zulu.  I'll have to monitor it more to determine whether or not this is the same day by day.  And the Sudbury/North Bay sectors remained linked up with Timmins/Moose, as though it was a quieter than usual Monday.