air traffic control

noun

: the process or system by which the movements of aircraft are monitored and directed by ground personnel communicating with pilots by radio

improving the technology used for air traffic control

also : the personnel who operate an air traffic control system

Pilots would still have to file flight plans, which could be modified by air traffic control if they posed any safety hazards.

—David R. Hinson

Examples of air traffic control in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The airfield and air traffic control tower weren't impacted, so planes could keep landing and taking off, meaning no flights were canceled, a spokesperson for the airport said. —Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 11 June 2026

In uncontrolled airspace, air traffic control does not provide services; pilots are responsible for their own navigation and collision avoidance. —Agamemnon Crassidis, The Conversation, 11 June 2026

At one point, the air traffic control tower at Chicago's Midway airport was evacuated due a tornado warning. —Abc News, ABC News, 11 June 2026

The Gary/Chicago Airport Authority awarded a $16 million contract Wednesday to Larson-Danielson Construction, of LaPorte, for the construction of a new air traffic control tower. —Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for air traffic control

• amphibole
• asystole
• buttonhole
• casserole
• centriole
• decontrol
• glycerol
• metropole
• monopole
• multipole
• omeprazole
• oriole