Challenger 300
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure; Human Factors
There was weather in the DAL HI sector and we were working many arrivals to IAH T. A B737 was level at FL330 to HOU over PPUNT and the arrival. Challenger 300 was at FL390 going to SGR. We needed to get the Challenger 300 down to FL280 as per the LOA. My trainee assigned the Challenger 300 descent to FL280 and APREQD descending with BILEE HI sector. They said unable. The Controller quickly came back and said it was approved as long as we got him below the B737; which we said we will do. After doing some other things; we noticed that they took the hand off on the B737; but not the Challenger 300. He was less than 2 minutes from the boundary. There was weather off his left side and the B737 on his right. They wouldn't take the hand off saying he wasn't separated from the B737. I begged them to take the handoff as I couldn't turn the Challenger 300 and we said we were getting him under the B737. Hand off to BILEE HI have been a problem in the past and continue to be presently. This happens especially when they don't think we are doing our job; but they will be separated before separation is lost. This practice of not taking the hand off is a huge distraction and takes our time away from scanning other parts of our sector and risks a deviation. BILEE HI needs to take handoffs in a timely manner. This is an ongoing problem and needs to stop before something really bad happens.
ZFW Controller described an airspace infraction when an adjacent sector refused a hand off; claiming separation was not yet established between two aircraft.