Definition
A facility, located at an airport, staffed by FAA-certified controllers who manage the safe, orderly, and expeditious movement of aircraft operating on the airport surface and within the airspace immediately surrounding the airport. Tower controllers issue takeoff and landing clearances, sequence arriving and departing traffic, and coordinate aircraft and vehicle movements on runways and taxiways.
Plain English
The tall building at an airport with windows on top where controllers watch and direct planes taking off, landing, and moving on the ground.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight planning, airport information, and communications for airports that have an operating control tower.
Why Pilots Care
Knowing whether an airport has an ATCT determines the exact radio calls and clearances a pilot must obtain before taxi, takeoff, or landing.
Intuition Check
Do not think of ATCT as only the physical tower building. In aviation use, it means the control facility and the controllers providing the tower service.
Example Sentence 1
Before taxiing at a towered field, the pilot contacted the ATCT for clearance to the active runway.
Example Sentence 2
During IFR flight planning the pilot noted the destination airport had an ATCT and prepared the appropriate tower frequency.