How to become an air traffic controller
Official title: Air traffic controller
Also called: Air traffic control officer, Air traffic coordinator, Air traffic service operator, Air traffic control officer, Air traffic coordinator, Air traffic service operator
Air traffic controller directs aircraft movements in airspace and on the ground, using radio, radar and lighting systems and provides information relevant to the operation of aircraft.
Main tasks
- Directing and controlling aircraft approaching and leaving airport and their movement on the ground
- Directing and controlling aircraft operating in designated airspace sector
- Examining and approving flight plans
- Informing flight crew and operations staff about weather conditions, operational facilities, flight plans and air traffic
- Applying knowledge of principles and practices of air traffic control in order to identify and solve problems arising in the course of their work
- Initiating and organising emergency, search and rescue services and procedures
- Directing activities of all aircraft and service vehicles on or near airport runways
- Maintaining radio and telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units and other control centres and coordinating the movement of aircraft into adjoining areas
Ways in
- Licence or registration: Air traffic controllers must hold an air traffic controller licence. Trainees join CAAS, train at the Singapore Aviation Academy and are licensed only after showing the required competency. Law: Air Navigation Act 1966. Regulator: Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) (https://www.caas.gov.sg).
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Will AI change the work of an air traffic controller?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026