Definition
Air Traffic Control Towers are FAA facilities located at airports that issue clearances and instructions to aircraft operating in the immediate vicinity of the airport, including on taxiways, runways, and within the surrounding controlled airspace. They are responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of traffic on the airport surface and in the air close to the field.
Plain English
ATC Towers are the staffed facilities at busy airports that talk to pilots by radio and tell them when and where to taxi, take off, and land. They keep aircraft from running into each other on the ground and during takeoff and landing.
Context Anchor
You encounter ATC towers when operating at towered airports, during radio communication, before takeoff, on arrival, and while moving on the airport surface.
Why Pilots Care
At a towered airport, you cannot taxi onto a runway, take off, or land without a tower clearance. Operating without one — or misunderstanding what was said — is a serious safety and regulatory issue. Knowing what the tower controls (and what it doesn't) helps you make the right call to the right facility.
Intuition Check
Do not think of an ATC tower as only the tall building. In aviation use, “tower” often means the control facility and the controllers providing instructions from it.
Example Sentence 1
Before taxiing at a towered field, the pilot contacted Ground Control and then switched to the ATC Tower for takeoff clearance.
Example Sentence 2
ATC Towers coordinate departures and arrivals with nearby radar facilities to keep traffic flowing safely.