Definition
A coordinated handoff procedure in which one airport traffic control tower transfers communication and control of an aircraft directly to another airport's tower, typically used when an aircraft is departing one towered airport and arriving at another nearby towered airport without involving a separate approach control or center facility in between.
Plain English
When you fly from one airport with a tower to another airport with a tower that's close by, the first tower talks directly to the second tower and hands you off. You switch radio frequencies from one tower to the next without checking in with anyone in between.
Context Anchor
Seen in ATC and flight planning discussions for flights between towered airports, especially short flights where tower coordination affects how the aircraft is handled.
Why Pilots Care
Enables faster, simpler handling for short flights between adjacent airports and reduces radio workload on approach facilities.
Intuition Check
Do not read Tower to Tower as simply meaning “a tower talks to a tower” in ordinary conversation. In FAA use, it means a specific controller-to-controller coordination method for handling an aircraft between towered airports.
Example Sentence 1
Because the two airports were only twelve miles apart, the controller used a Tower to Tower handoff and sent us straight to the destination tower's frequency.
Example Sentence 2
Tower to tower coordination allowed the aircraft to remain on the tower frequency throughout the short trip.