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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Eight seconds later, tower air traffic control cleared the pilot for takeoff. —Daniel Mcfadin, Arkansas Online, 18 Mar. 2023

The incident unfolded in a few seconds, according to air traffic control recordings archived by LiveATC.net. —Ian Duncan, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2023

California received more than $139 million in grant funding this fiscal year to upgrade, modernize, and rebuild the state’s airports, terminals and air traffic control towers. —Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2023

That partly explains why air traffic control (ATC) system modernization is so challenging and why funding reform is so necessary. —Laurie Garrow, Scientific American, 2 Mar. 2023

That caused passenger check-in and boarding systems at Lufthansa to seize up Wednesday morning and prompted German air traffic control to suspend incoming flights, though these have since resumed. —Reuters, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2023

An official multi-national investigation into the incident identified a host of mistakes and safety issues, including a lack of communication between the balloon and Belarus air traffic control. —Craig Hooper, Forbes, 5 Feb. 2023

In October 2021, after storms and air traffic control constraints in Florida, Southwest had to cancel about 2,000 flights over four days when its crew scheduling system was overmatched. —Dallas News, 12 Jan. 2023

Delta was affected by compounding factors this weekend, including higher-than-planned unscheduled absences in some of its work groups, weather, and air traffic control constraints, a Delta spokesperson said. —Alexandra Meeks, CNN, 27 June 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above