Control air traffic on and within vicinity of airport and movement of air traffic between altitude sectors and control centers according to established procedures and policies. Authorize, regulate, and control commercial airline flights according to government or company regulations to expedite and ensure flight safety.
U.S. Workers
22,400
Median Salary
$144,580
10-Year Growth
+1.2%
Annual Openings
2,200
Typical entry: Associate's degree
23 of 23 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties.
AI: Fully automatable - Detecting emergencies and alerting airport emergency services is largely automatable and many systems already trigger automated alerts, so AI can perform this task end-to-end.
Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references.
AI: Fully automatable - Monitoring aircraft using radar, computer systems, and sensor feeds is highly automatable and AI routinely performs track detection, fusion, and alerting functions in operational systems.
Relay air traffic information, such as courses, altitudes, or expected arrival times, to control centers.
AI: Fully automatable - Relaying structured air traffic information is already highly automatable (datalinks, automated messages and formatted transmissions), so AI can fully perform routine relay tasks.
Compile information about flights from flight plans, pilot reports, radar, or observations.
AI: Fully automatable - Aggregating flight plans, pilot reports, radar tracks and observations into consolidated records is a straightforward data-integration task that AI can fully automate.
Organize flight plans or traffic management plans to prepare for planes about to enter assigned airspace.
AI: Fully automatable - AI-driven traffic flow management and planning tools can generate and organize flight and traffic-management plans for incoming traffic, enabling full automation of routine plan preparation.
Analyze factors such as weather reports, fuel requirements, or maps to determine air routes.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can integrate weather, fuel, navigational charts and constraints to analyze and propose air routes algorithmically with high accuracy.
Review records or reports for clarity and completeness and maintain records or reports as required under federal law.
AI: Fully automatable - Checking documents for completeness and maintaining records is a rules-based task that AI can fully automate, including formatting, validation and retention to meet regulatory requirements.
Complete daily activity reports and keep records of messages from aircraft.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated speech-to-text, logging and report-generation systems in 2025 can reliably transcribe radio communications and produce daily activity records.
Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
AI: Partial - As of 2025 AI systems can detect nearby traffic and hazardous conditions and generate advisories, but human controllers still supervise and finalize pilot communications for safety and liability reasons.
Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
AI: Partial - AI can propose and automate routine clearances in some trials and support decision-making, but issuing final landing and take-off authorizations remains a human responsibility in operational environments.
Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
AI: Partial - Automated handoff messaging and data‑link transfers are widely used and AI can manage much of the coordination, yet human controllers typically monitor and retain authority over control transfers.
Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
AI: Partial - AI can compute diversion options and recommend emergency routing or fields quickly, but providing and authorizing such critical changes is still overseen by human controllers in practice.
Monitor or direct the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
AI: Partial - AI provides strong surveillance, conflict detection, and sequencing optimization tools, but full autonomous direction of aircraft movements to guarantee safety and handle novel contingencies is not yet standardly delegated to AI alone.
Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.
AI: Partial - AI can recommend runway assignments and holding patterns and can automate some routine runway sequencing, but controllers typically issue and confirm such instructions in live operations.
Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers.
AI: Partial - Surface movement management systems and AI can coordinate and optimize ground traffic, but human oversight and intervention remain common for directing mixed ground vehicles and atypical situations.
Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information.
AI: Partial - Automated broadcasts (ATIS/VOLMET) and data‑link messages are common and AI can generate and send information, but real‑time interactive radio contact with pilots in dynamic situations is still typically handled by humans.
Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement.
AI: Partial - AI can generate, transcribe, and send routine coordination messages and assist with logging, but regulatory, safety and real-time judgment requirements make full autonomous radio/telephone contact unlikely in 2025.
Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes.
AI: Partial - AI can compute optimal vector timing and propose procedures using surveillance and traffic models, but final timing/clearance decisions remain safety-critical and typically require human authority and situational judgment.
Initiate or coordinate searches for missing aircraft.
AI: Partial - AI can detect anomalies, recommend search patterns, and notify agencies, yet initiating and coordinating multi-agency search-and-rescue operations generally requires human authorization and complex coordination.
Provide on-the-job training to new air traffic controllers.
AI: Partial - AI can deliver classroom instruction, simulations, assessments, and coaching for trainees, but hands-on supervised tower/center mentoring and certification remain predominantly human-led.
Check conditions and traffic at different altitudes in response to pilots' requests for altitude changes.
AI: Partial - AI can monitor traffic and altitude profiles, evaluate conflicts, and propose altitude reassignment, but issuing clearances in dynamic, safety-critical situations typically requires human controller oversight.
Inspect, adjust, or control radio equipment or airport lights.
AI: Partial - Monitoring and remote control of lights and radios can be automated and diagnostics aided by AI, but physical inspection, adjustment and repair of equipment still require human technicians.
Conduct pre-flight briefings on weather conditions, suggested routes, altitudes, indications of turbulence, or other flight safety information.
AI: Partial - AI can compile and draft pre-flight briefings from weather and routing data, but delivering, validating and accepting responsibility for safety‑critical briefings still requires human oversight and certification.