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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.

  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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