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From
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With an average of 50,000 aircraft arriving and departing from different destinations throughout the United States daily, you may wonder how air traffic control manages all this
traffic, while maintaining a exceptional safety record. A rise in the number of aircraft in the skies means an increasing need to safely coordinate this air traffic. Consequently, the United States categorized its airspace system into many different levels and forms to accommodate this need. This system is called the Air Traffic Control
(ATC) system and those people who work in this system are called Air Traffic Controllers.
THE JOB OF AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
So what do air traffic controllers really do? Well, their goal is to
minimize the risk of aircraft collisions while maximizing the number of
aircraft that can fly safely at the same time in a particular area. In
other words, controllers provide a service to private and commercial
aviators. They monitor the separation of aircraft, and ensure that pilots
receive important information about the airspace they are flying
in.
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Safe Traffic Separation
The main job of air traffic controllers is to maintain and monitor
the safe separation of aircraft in flight. The Federal Aviation
Regulations (FAR) imposes that aircraft flying south and/or westerly headings
should fly at even thousand altitudes (e.g., 24,000 feet, 28,000 feet,
etc.), and aircraft flying north and/or easterly headings should fly at
odd thousand altitudes (e.g., 29,000 feet, 31,000 feet, etc.), which helps
provide safer separation. |
Approximately 20,000 people in the United States are employed as air
traffic controllers, most by the
Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), an
agency that is governed by the Department of Transportation. However, a handful of air traffic controllers are employed by
private companies and operate at airports outside of the Department of
Transportation's jurisdiction. An air traffic controller earns
approximately $100,000 annually, but that really depends on what his/her
specific duties are. For example, a controller that manages airspace with
increased congestion may earn more than one who only reports weather
services. Although there are
many different types of air traffic controllers communicating with pilots
during each phase of the flight, they all have one thing in common -
managing air traffic and maintaining safe separation of aircraft..
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