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Aviation vocabulary · Air Traffic Control & Radiotelephony

Air traffic control

Meaning in aviation, with examples

nounCore term

In aviation, air traffic control means: The service that guides aircraft on the ground and in the air to keep them safely apart and moving in an orderly way. Controllers give instructions and clearances by radio.

In Turkish: hava trafik kontrolü, hava trafik kontrol birimi

How it is used

Usually shortened to ATC, said as letters. A flight talks to several units in turn: delivery, ground, tower, approach and area control (centre). Pilots 'contact' the next unit when they are handed over.

Example sentences

  1. Air traffic control asked us to reduce speed because of traffic ahead.

  2. She has worked as an air traffic controller in Ankara for ten years.

Common collocations

  • contact air traffic control
  • air traffic controller
  • ATC clearance
  • ATC delay
  • ATC instructions
  • clearancePermission from air traffic control for an aircraft to do something specific, such as follow a route, take off, enter airspace, climb or land.
  • readbackRepeating an ATC clearance or instruction back to the controller, so that the controller can confirm it was heard and understood correctly.
  • call signThe name and number that identify an aircraft on the radio, such as the airline's radio name plus a flight number. It is used in every transmission.
  • frequencyThe radio channel, given as a number in megahertz, that pilots and a particular ATC unit use to talk to each other.
  • squawkTo set a four-digit code on the aircraft's transponder so that controllers can identify it on radar. As a noun, the code itself.

More terms: Air Traffic Control & Radiotelephony

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