Definition
An ICAO term for the air traffic control facility established to provide air traffic control service to aerodrome traffic, including aircraft operating on the maneuvering area of the aerodrome and aircraft flying in the vicinity of the aerodrome.
Plain English
The control tower at an airport. It is the unit that talks to aircraft taxiing, taking off, landing, and flying close to the airport, and tells them what to do to stay safely separated.
Context Anchor
You may see this term in ICAO-based procedures, international aviation documents, and discussions of tower-controlled airports outside the United States.
Derivation
Aerodrome' comes from Greek 'aer' (air) and 'dromos' (running place or course) -- literally a 'running place for aircraft.' ICAO and most of the world use 'aerodrome' where the United States typically uses 'airport.' Knowing this helps explain why the same facility has two names depending on whose documents you are reading.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots flying internationally need to recognize this term to identify the correct facility for local clearances and to use standard ICAO radio phraseology.
Intuition Check
Do not read “tower” as only the physical building. Here it means the air traffic control unit that provides the tower service, whether the focus is the people, function, or facility.
Example Sentence 1
On arrival into the international airport, the pilot contacted the Aerodrome Control Tower for landing clearance.
Example Sentence 2
The aerodrome control tower coordinated the departure sequence for three aircraft holding short of the runway.