Air traffic controllers earn relatively high pay and have
good benefits.
The air traffic control system is a vast network of people
and equipment that ensures the safe operation of commercial
and private aircraft. Air traffic controllers coordinate the
movement of air traffic to make certain that planes stay a
safe distance apart. Their immediate concern is safety, but
controllers also must direct planes efficiently to minimize
delays. Some regulate airport traffic through designated airspaces;
others regulate airport arrivals and departures.
Although airport tower controllers or terminal
controllers watch over all planes traveling through the
airport’s airspace, their main responsibility is to organize
the flow of aircraft into and out of the airport. Relying
on radar and visual observation, they closely monitor each
plane to ensure a safe distance between all aircraft and to
guide pilots between the hangar or ramp and the end of the
airport’s airspace. In addition, controllers keep pilots informed
about changes in weather conditions such as wind shear, a
sudden change in the velocity or direction of the wind that
can cause the pilot to lose control of the aircraft.
During arrival or departure, several controllers direct each
plane. As a plane approaches an airport, the pilot radios
ahead to inform the terminal of the plane’s presence. The
controller in the radar room, just beneath the control tower,
has a copy of the plane’s flight plan and already has observed
the plane on radar. If the path is clear, the controller directs
the pilot to a runway; if the airport is busy, the plane is
fitted into a traffic pattern with other aircraft waiting
to land. As the plane nears the runway, the pilot is asked
to contact the tower. There, another controller, who also
is watching the plane on radar, monitors the aircraft the
last mile or so to the runway, delaying any departures that
would interfere with the plane’s landing. Once the plane has
landed, a ground controller in the tower directs it along
the taxiways to its assigned gate. The ground controller usually
works entirely by sight, but may use radar if visibility is
very poor.
The procedure is reversed for departures. The ground controller
directs the plane to the proper runway. The local controller
then informs the pilot about conditions at the airport, such
as weather, speed and direction of wind, and visibility. The
local controller also issues runway clearance for the pilot
to take off. Once in the air, the plane is guided out of the
airport’s airspace by the departure controller.
After each plane departs, airport tower controllers notify
enroute controllers who will next take charge. There
are 20 air route traffic control centers located around the
country, each employing 300 to 700 controllers, with more
than 150 on duty during peak hours at the busiest facilities.
Airplanes usually fly along designated routes; each center
is assigned a certain airspace containing many different routes.
Enroute controllers work in teams of up to three members,
depending on how heavy traffic is; each team is responsible
for a section of the center’s airspace. A team, for example,
might be responsible for all planes that are between 30 and
100 miles north of an airport and flying at an altitude between
6,000 and 18,000 feet.
To prepare for planes about to enter the team’s airspace,
the radar associate controller organizes flight plans coming
off a printer. If two planes are scheduled to enter the team’s
airspace at nearly the same time, location, and altitude,
this controller may arrange with the preceding control unit
for one plane to change its flight path. The previous unit
may have been another team at the same or an adjacent center,
or a departure controller at a neighboring terminal. As a
plane approaches a team’s airspace, the radar controller accepts
responsibility for the plane from the previous controlling
unit. The controller also delegates responsibility for the
plane to the next controlling unit when the plane leaves the
team’s airspace.
The radar controller, who is the senior team member, observes
the planes in the team’s airspace on radar and communicates
with the pilots when necessary. Radar controllers warn pilots
about nearby planes, bad weather conditions, and other potential
hazards. Two planes on a collision course will be directed
around each other. If a pilot wants to change altitude in
search of better flying conditions, the controller will check
to determine that no other planes will be along the proposed
path. As the flight progresses, the team responsible for the
aircraft notifies the next team in charge of the airspace
ahead. Through team coordination, the plane arrives safely
at its destination.
Both airport tower and enroute controllers usually control
several planes at a time; often, they have to make quick decisions
about completely different activities. For example, a controller
might direct a plane on its landing approach and at the same
time provide pilots entering the airport’s airspace with information
about conditions at the airport. While instructing these pilots,
the controller also might observe other planes in the vicinity,
such as those in a holding pattern waiting for permission
to land, to ensure that they remain well separated.
In addition to airport towers and enroute centers, air traffic
controllers also work in flight service stations operated
at more than 100 locations. These flight service specialists
provide pilots with information on the station’s particular
area, including terrain, preflight and inflight weather information,
suggested routes, and other information important to the safety
of a flight. Flight service specialists help pilots in emergency
situations and initiate and coordinate searches for missing
or overdue aircraft. However, they are not involved in actively
managing air traffic.
Some air traffic controllers work at the FAA’s Air Traffic
Control Systems Command Center in Herndon, VA, where they
oversee the entire system. They look for situations that will
create bottlenecks or other problems in the system, then respond
with a management plan for traffic into and out of the troubled
sector. The objective is to keep traffic levels in the trouble
spots manageable for the controllers working at enroute centers.
The FAA has implemented an automated air traffic control
system, called the National Airspace System (NAS) Architecture.
The NAS Architecture is a long-term strategic plan that will
allow controllers to more efficiently deal with the demands
of increased air traffic. It encompasses the replacement of
aging equipment and the introduction of new systems, technologies,
and procedures to enhance safety and security and support
future aviation growth. The NAS Architecture facilitates continuing
discussion of modernization between the FAA and the aviation
community.
Controllers work a basic 40-hour week; however, they may
work additional hours, for which they receive overtime, or
premium, pay or equal time off. Because most control towers
and centers operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, controllers
rotate night and weekend shifts.
During busy times, controllers must work rapidly and efficiently.
Total concentration is required to keep track of several planes
at the same time and to make certain that all pilots receive
correct instructions. The mental stress of being responsible
for the safety of several aircraft and their passengers can
be exhausting.
| Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement |
To become an air traffic controller, a person must enroll
in an FAA-approved education program and pass a pre-employment
test that measures his or her ability to learn the controller’s
duties. Exceptions are air traffic controllers with prior
experience and military veterans. The pre-employment test
is currently offered only to students in the FAA Air Traffic
Collegiate Training Initiative Program or the Minneapolis
Community & Technical College, Air Traffic Control Training
Program. The test is administered by computer and takes about
8 hours to complete. To take the test, an applicant must apply
under an open advertisement for air traffic control positions
and be chosen to take the examination. When there are many
more applicants than available positions, applicants are selected
to take the test through random selection. In addition to
the pre-employment test, applicants must have 3 years of full-time
work experience, have completed a full 4 years of college,
or a combination of both. In combining education and experience,
1 year of undergraduate study—30 semester or 45 quarter hours—is
equivalent to 9 months of work experience. Certain kinds of
aviation experience also may be substituted for these requirements.
Upon successful completion of an FAA-approved program, individuals
who receive school recommendation, meet the basic qualification
requirements (including being less than 31 years of age) in
accordance with Federal law, and achieve a qualifying score
on the FAA-authorized pre-employment test become eligible
for employment as an air traffic controller. Candidates also
must pass a medical exam, undergo drug screening, and obtain
a security clearance before they can be hired.
Upon selection, employees attend the FAA Academy in Oklahoma
City, OK, for 12 weeks of training, during which they learn
the fundamentals of the airway system, FAA regulations, controller
equipment, and aircraft performance characteristics, as well
as more specialized tasks.
After graduation, candidates assigned to an air traffic control
facility are classified as “developmental controllers” until
they complete all requirements to be certified for all of
the air traffic control positions within a defined area of
a given facility. Generally, it takes new controllers with
only initial controller training between 2 and 4 years, depending
on the facility and the availability of facility staff or
contractors to provide on-the-job training, to complete all
the certification requirements to become certified professional
controllers. Individuals who have had prior controller experience
normally take less time to become fully certified. Controllers
who fail to complete either the academy or the on-the-job
portion of the training usually are dismissed. Controllers
must pass a physical examination each year and a job performance
examination twice each year. Failure to become certified in
any position at a facility within a specified time also may
result in dismissal. Controllers also are subject to drug
screening as a condition of continuing employment.
Air traffic controllers must be articulate to give pilots
directions quickly and clearly. Intelligence and a good memory
also are important because controllers constantly receive
information that they must immediately grasp, interpret, and
remember. Decisiveness also is required because controllers
often have to make quick decisions. The ability to concentrate
is crucial because controllers must make these decisions in
the midst of noise and other distractions.
At airports, new controllers begin by supplying pilots with
basic flight data and airport information. They then advance
to the position of ground controller, then local controller,
departure controller, and, finally, arrival controller. At
an air route traffic control center, new controllers first
deliver printed flight plans to teams, gradually advancing
to radar associate controller and then radar controller.
Controllers can transfer to jobs at different locations or
advance to supervisory positions, including management or
staff jobs, such as air traffic control data systems computer
specialist, in air traffic control and top administrative
jobs in the FAA. However, there are only limited opportunities
for a controller to switch from a position in an enroute center
to a tower.
Air traffic controllers held about 24,000 jobs in 2004. The
vast majority were employed by the FAA. Air traffic controllers
work at airports—in towers and flight service stations—and
in air route traffic control centers. Some professional controllers
conduct research at the FAA’s national experimental center
near Atlantic City, NJ. Others serve as instructors at the
FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, OK. A small number of civilian
controllers work for the U.S. Department of Defense. In addition
to controllers employed by the Federal Government, some work
for private air traffic control companies providing service
to non-FAA towers.
Employment of air traffic controllers is expected to grow
about as fast as average for all occupations through the year
2014. Increasing air traffic will require more controllers
to handle the additional work. Employment growth, however,
is not expected to keep pace with growth in the number of
aircraft flying. New computerized systems will assist the
controller by automatically making many of the routine decisions.
This will allow controllers to handle more traffic, thus increasing
their productivity. In addition, Federal budget constraints
may limit hiring of air traffic controllers.
More job openings are expected as the result of replacement
needs from workers leaving the occupation. The majority of
today’s air traffic controllers will be eligible to retire
over the next decade, although not all are expected to do
so. Nevertheless, replacement needs will result in job opportunities
each year for those graduating from the FAA training programs.
Despite the increasing number of jobs coming open, competition
to get into the FAA training programs is expected to remain
keen, as there generally are many more applicants to get into
the schools than there are openings, but those who graduate
have good prospects of getting a job as a controller.
Air traffic controllers who continue to meet the proficiency
and medical requirements enjoy more job security than do most
workers. The demand for air travel and the workloads of air
traffic controllers decline during recessions, but controllers
seldom are laid off.
Air traffic controllers earn relatively high pay and have
good benefits. Median annual earnings of air traffic controllers
in May 2004 were $102,030. The middle 50 percent earned between
$78,170 and $126,260. The lowest 10 percent earned less than
$57,720, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $139,210.
The average annual salary, excluding overtime earnings, for
air traffic controllers in the Federal Government—which employs
90 percent of the total—in nonsupervisory, supervisory, and
managerial positions was $106,380 in May 2004. The Air Traffic
Control pay system classifies each air traffic facility into
one of eight levels with corresponding pay bands. Under this
pay system, controllers’ salaries are determined by the rating
of the facility. The higher the rating, the higher the controller’s
salary and the greater the demand on the controller’s judgment,
skill, and decision making ability.
Depending on length of service, air traffic controllers receive
13 to 26 days of paid vacation and 13 days of paid sick leave
each year, in addition to life insurance and health benefits.
Controllers also can retire at an earlier age and with fewer
years of service than other Federal employees. Air traffic
controllers are eligible to retire at age 50 with 20 years
of service as an active air traffic controller or after 25
years of active service at any age. There is a mandatory retirement
age of 56 for controllers who manage air traffic. However,
Federal law provides for exemptions to the mandatory age of
56, up to age 61, for controllers having exceptional skills
and experience.
Airfield operations specialists also are involved in the
direction and control of traffic in air transportation.
| Sources of Additional Information |
For further information on how to qualify and apply for a
job as an air traffic controller, contact the FAA:
- Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Ave.
SW., Washington, DC 20591. Internet: http://www.faa.gov/
-
- Source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07
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