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

Investigators will collect flight tracking data, air traffic control recordings, plane maintenance records, and forecast and weather around the time of the crash. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2026

Brickhouse explains how recovery of the device would be more beneficial to investigators than just the air traffic control recording, which documented the co-pilot’s chilling mayday call in the moments leading up to the impact. — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2026

As the plane plunged, a man’s voice could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the background of the co-pilot’s final radio transmissions to air traffic control. — Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

Tower history The new air traffic control tower is meant to replace a nearly 60-year-old one, which has operational and accessibility limitations, according to the airports department. — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 3 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