Ground Metering Once flights are ready to taxi out for departure, pilots will contact ground metering on 121.67 and inform the controller of their call-sign, location on the airport and ATIS code. Example: "United 452, bravo south with Juliet". Tower controllers receive gate information on PDC displays but since terminal exit points sometime do not coincide with the actual gates, it saves a lot of confusion to verify exact location when communicating with ground metering. Ground metering may sound like a "no-brainer" position to work but in reality the ground metering person does a lot to help both ground controllers. Ground metering will normally place flight progress strips in front of the outbound ground controller in the order that aircraft call for taxi. When gate or taxiway congestion become factors for both inbound and outbound ground controllers, the metering controller will manipulate the order in which flight progress strips are placed to assist the outbound controller in moving key aircraft first. If you are at a gate or remote parking spot and not causing an immediate problem for anyone, you might have to wait it out a few minutes while the airline schedulers finish writing their new chapter in How to Gridlock an Airport in 15 Easy Steps.