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

How the two sets of pilots couldn’t hear each other’s air traffic control communication nor see each other’s locations because collision avoidance technology wasn’t required or activated. —Emma Hurt, AJC.com, 19 Feb. 2026

Russian MiG-31 interceptors flew over Estonia for about 12 minutes with transponders – onboard devices that automatically respond to radar signals by transmitting an aircraft’s identity and altitude, enabling air traffic control and air defense systems to track it – switched off. —Frederic Lemieux, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026

Drones buzzed overhead, and journalists formed their own air traffic control network to prevent collisions. —Richard Ruelas, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026

The recommendations call for the aviation agency to implement time limitations for air traffic control supervisors, improve training, limit some commercial air traffic at busy airports, improve crash avoidance technology and amend helicopter route design criteria. —Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 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