Who controls air traffic?

The FAA provides air traffic services for the world's largest and busiest airspace. Tens of thousands of aircraft are guided safely and expeditiously every day through America's National Airspace System to their destinations.



Air traffic is controlled by a specialized network of professionals known as Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs), who are typically employees of a national government body or a privatized agency. In the United States, air traffic is managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while in the UK, it is handled by NATS (National Air Traffic Services). These controllers are responsible for directing aircraft on the ground and through a controlled section of airspace, ensuring that planes maintain a safe distance from one another. The system is divided into three main areas: Tower Control, which handles takeoffs, landings, and ground movements at the airport; Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), which manages aircraft within a 30-to-50-mile radius of the airport; and Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC), which monitor planes during the "en route" phase of flight at high altitudes. They use sophisticated radar, satellite navigation (ADS-B), and radio communication to coordinate hundreds of thousands of flights daily, prioritizing safety, order, and efficiency in the global skies.

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The Air Traffic Organization ( ATO ) is the operational arm of the FAA . It is responsible for providing safe and efficient air navigation services to 29.4 million square miles of airspace.

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Federal law provides that the United States government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States; the FAA makes the plans and policy for the use of the navigable airspace; and any citizen has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace.

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When air traffic controllers are hired as trainees by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), they choose a geographical area in which they want to work. Beyond that, they usually don't have a lot of choice in the type of job they then enter, at least at first.

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There is no existing mechanism for the FAA to monitor if there are drone pilots, licensed or otherwise, who will fly above this altitude limit. That is well and fine until you get into a close encounter with a manned aircraft, for which you could be facing heavy penalties if the FAA can identify you as the drone pilot.

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Generally, that airspace from 18,000 feet MSL up to and including FL 600, including the airspace overlying the waters within 12 nautical miles off the coast of the 48 contiguous States and Alaska; and designated international airspace beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast of the 48 contiguous States and Alaska within ...

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The ceiling of this airspace, shown in blue, is 10,000' MSL and because nothing is depicted over it, we know Echo fills in the gap between 10,000' and 18,000' MSL where Alpha begins. Above Alpha again lies Echo.

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And then there's the issue of age: In the US, air traffic controllers are required to retire at the age of 56, and the FAA won't hire anyone older than age 31, because they want candidates to have at least a 25-year career path.

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Air traffic controller is a six-figure job that doesn't require a four-year degree. People with this position are responsible for making sure that aircraft are operating at a safe distance from each other.

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The argument for mandatory retirement appears to have been that (a) the mid 50s were the ages in which burnout was likely to occur among controllers as a result of job stress, (b) age 56 would allow a controller to accumulate 25 years or more of creditable service if hired at the proposed maximum entry age of 31, and ...

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Although air traffic controllers may not get free flights like flight attendants do, they still have attractive employee benefits. For example, their employers often give them permanent discounts which they can use to buy tickets and other products that the airport or a specific airline carries.

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The FAA manages the world's safest and most complex aviation system. On an average day, we serve more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers across more than 29 million square miles of airspace. The National Airspace System is a dynamic organism that is constantly evolving.

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An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

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