Definition
The ground-based service operated by qualified controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in controlled airspace, issuing instructions and clearances to keep aircraft safely separated from each other and from terrain, and to provide an orderly flow of traffic.
Plain English
ATC is the team of controllers on the ground who talk to pilots by radio, tell them where and when to taxi, take off, climb, turn, and land, and keep aircraft a safe distance apart.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter ATC during radio communication, flight planning, takeoff, landing, and when flying in controlled airspace.
Why Pilots Care
ATC provides the clearances and traffic information pilots need to take off, land, and fly safely in shared airspace.
Intuition Check
ATC is not the pilot of the aircraft. ATC gives instructions and information; the pilot flies the airplane and must speak up if an instruction cannot be followed safely.
Example Sentence 1
Before taxiing, the student called ATC for clearance and was told to hold short of runway 27.