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 plane, bound for Tahiti, came within 500 vertical feet of an American Airlines flight headed for Dallas-Fort Worth, according to air traffic control audio and flight tracking data reviewed by the Times. — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026

Two people were onboard conducting a maintenance flight, the air traffic control audio indicated. — Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 10 Nov. 2026

She was heard talking to air traffic control in the final moments before the crash. — Chelsea Jones, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2026

Local media initially reported the bomb alert came from an anonymous phone call made to air traffic control, but a source later denied this was this case, Reuters reported. — Tom Sanders, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 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