Their role is vital. They are responsible to organize and direct the movement of aircraft into and out of the airport. They issue control instructions and advisories by radio to the pilots to provide for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic both in the air and on the ground. Meanwhile, the history of air traffic controllers follows very closely the developments of aviation employment in general. It is difficult to determine when air traffic controllers began their work, but as daily flights increased, some method of control became necessary. Added to these passenger-carrying flights were thousands of cargo or air-freight flights, all of which placed a tremendous traffic load on the existing airport facilities. The presence of air traffic controllers is very important to aircraft jobs. It is very necessary that pilots should receive in-flight information on weather, other air traffic in their area, and flight conditions in general. Thus, air traffic controllers were employed to assist in carrying out these control functions. The use of Instrument Landing System (ILS) allowed the number of planes being tracked to increase dramatically. Airport Surveillance Radar allows controllers to survey air activity even over a 50 mile-radius.
Note that the aviation employment of all air traffic controllers are member-employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is responsible for ensuring the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of traffic. Controllers have work in one of three different areas: airport traffic control towers, air route traffic control centers, or flight service stations. Tower air traffic control specialist supervises flight operations within a specific area surrounding an airport. These employees are stationed in hundreds of airport control towers in the country to issue clearances or authorization to the pilots of planes ready for takeoff, those preparing to land, and those flying within the area. They coordinate the altitudes at which planes within the area will fly and advise the pilot regarding weather, wind direction, and the relative position of other aircraft. Their advice is based on their own observation, information, received from the National Weather Service, air route traffic control en route centers, flight service stations, aircrafts pilots and other sources.
Controllers maintain separation between landing and departing aircraft, transfer control of planes on instrument flights leaving their air, and receive control of planes on instruments flights coming into their airspace from controllers at adjacent facilities. Likewise, air traffic control specialists control the movements of a number of aircraft within the area, and these vehicles usually appear as tiny bars, or “blips,” on a radar screen. Because of this, they must be able to recall quickly the registration number of each plane under their control, its type and speed, and its position in the air, and must take these facts into consideration as they give instructions and information to other aircraft. They must also remain in contact with the air control centers so as to more efficiently control traffic and prevent congestions in the area.
Air traffic coordinators, or en route controllers, work at one of the regional centers in the United States. Part of their air traffic jobs, they coordinate the movements of en route aircraft between airports but out of range of the airport traffic controllers. Through radar and electronic equipment, they maintain contact with planes within their area, giving instructions, air traffic clearances, and advice about flight conditions. They keep track of all flights within the center’s airspace and transfer control of the aircraft to controllers in the adjacent center or to the approach control or terminal when the craft enters that airspace. Aviation job of en route controllers involves work in teams of tow or three, depending on how heavy the traffic is in their area. Station air traffic control specialists make up the third group of controllers. They provide preflight or in-flight assistance to pilots from more than 300 flight service stations linked by a broad communications systems. These controllers give pilots information about the station’s particular area, including terrain, weather, and anything else necessary to guarantee a safe flight. They may suggest alternate routes or different attitudes, alert pilots to military operations taking place along certain routes, inform them about landing at airports that have no towers, assist pilots in emergency situations, and participate in searches for missing or overdue aircraft.
Furthermore, trainees for air traffic control and other avionics jobs positions are selected from applicants who receive a high score on a federal civil service examination. The written test measures aptitudes for arithmetic, abstract reasoning, three-dimensional spatial visualization, and other indicators of an ability to learn the controllers’ duties. Traffic controllers’ aviation job is indispensable in order to ensure safety and smooth travel for millions of passengers around the world.
