Air traffic control
Also: ATC, air traffic controller, ATC clearance
The service that keeps aircraft safely apart and orders traffic on the ground and in the air through clearances and instructions passed by radio.
What it is
Air traffic control (ATC) works in layers. The tower handles the runways and the airspace immediately around the airport, often with a separate ground control position for taxiing. Approach control sequences arrivals and departures in the terminal area, and area control centres handle aircraft en route, sector by sector.
Its job is to maintain minimum separation: en route under radar this is typically 5 nautical miles horizontally or 1,000 feet vertically, and somewhat less on approach. Controllers issue clearances for routes, levels and speeds, which crews read back to confirm they have understood them.
English is the language of international aviation, although many countries also use the local language with domestic traffic. Each flight is identified by its call sign: ‘Speedbird’, for instance, belongs to British Airways.
On Vuelopedia
Vuelopedia airline pages show the call sign, the name the airline's flights use when talking to air traffic control.
Related terms
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Air traffic control. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/air-traffic-control
MLA
“Air traffic control.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/air-traffic-control. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Air traffic control.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/air-traffic-control.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Air traffic control. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/air-traffic-control (Accessed: 16 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_air_traffic_control,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Air traffic control}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/air-traffic-control},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/air-traffic-control}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/air-traffic-control |title=Air traffic control |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}