Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 5
Workload; Distraction; Time Pressure; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Environment - Non Weather Related; ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Human Factors; Procedure
On date at XA:15L; ZZZ went ATC Zero for COVID cleaning.There are NO procedures in place to assist controllers to properly close the sectors.  Coordination was/is left up to the controller's judgment.  Should controllers really be 'shooting from the hip' and guessing how to handle an event of this magnitude?Controllers are being instructed (and audited for proper usage) to use position relief checklist EVERYTIME we're relieved; R-R; D-R; D-D; R-D; but we are left to make up how we walk away from the scope with AIRCRAFT STILL FLYING within the sector.We were at the tail end of the busy morning departure push.  Aircraft were still in the sector and we were instructed to 'put the aircraft on non-radar routings' and TERMINATE RADAR SERVICE to IFR aircraft and leave the control room!IFR aircraft were still departing ZZZ1 at XA:15L!Why wasn't the airspace sterilized FIRST before controllers were instructed to shut the sectors down?!?Instructing aircraft flying IFR; 'Radar service terminated; frequency change approved' does not seem morally right.  We're not trained on Oceanic procedures if that's what we were trying to use.  How do these aircraft know which frequencies to change too?  How is it legal to allow IFR aircraft to just penetrate adjacent centers without coordination and/or flight plan information?What good are 'non-radar' routings if no one is insuring separation will exist?  For example; three sectors; 31; 28 and 46 are all routing an airplane at FL340 to fix XYZ.  Did anyone know about anyone else's traffic; no.  How is that SAFE or ORDERLY?  How is that PREVENTING a COLLISION?Procedures must be developed for this.FAAO 7110.65 2-1-1 para a and b was not adhered to!'The primary purpose of the ATC system is to prevent a collision involving aircraft operating in the system.''In addition to its primary purpose; the ATC system also provides a safe; orderly; and expeditious flow of air traffic.'Checklist and procedures must be developed!Why aren't we using our Facility Contingency plans?Why isn't traffic stopped from entering ZZZ airspace if they can't exit ZZZ airspace before we go ATC zero?The following are a few suggestion that MUST be included:- STOP departures from tower and approach controlled airspace at a time that will allow the aircraft to exit ZZZ (Center) airspace while they're still be radar monitored by center controllers.- Have a cut off where adjacent facilities reroute traffic around ZZZ.- Planes should NOT still be in ZZZ airspace while on an IFR flight plan at FL300; FL350; etc; when we leave the control room.
At XA:15L ZZZ was to enter an ATC zero status due to positive COVID-19 cases in the building and the need for a cleaning crew to sterilize the affected areas. At approximately XA:00:00L; the controller I was working with notified the watch desk that we would still have aircraft in our airspace at the time the facility's ATC zero was to begin. The two supervisors walked down to the area and told us to explain the situation to the aircraft and; when the time came; terminate their radar services; flash them to the next appropriate facility and provide a time/mileage for the aircraft to switch to the next facility frequency. My sector; at the time of ATC zero; only had 1 aircraft in in. The aircraft was in level flight at FL210 direct to ZZZ2. I explained the situation to the pilot who understood and told him; when the time came; to contact ZZZ1 100 miles from ZZZ2. I called to coordinate this with ZZZ1's low altitude sector who understood and acknowledged the plan. At 0515L; I told the pilot his radar services were terminated; started flashing the a/c's datablock to ZZZ1 and told the pilot to contact ZZZ1 at the previously coordinated mileage. The operations manager walked down to the area to ensure we terminated radar and got rid of any airplanes we could.  I then made a blanket statement on frequency that ZZZ was now ATC zero. I think there could have been better planning/Implementation of ATC zero. I also think we should have waited to sterilize the airspace instead of leaving multiple aircraft in ZZZ airspace in class A airspace flying along without ATC services. Had an event occurred; there was no one here to even monitor the airspace.
ATC Controllers reported after 'ATC Zero' was enacted in their building there were no procedures to assist controllers to safely close sectors.