Glossary
Air Traffic Controller Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential air traffic controller terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key air traffic controller vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in air traffic controller training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- ARTCC
- Air route traffic control center for en route traffic.
- ATIS
- Automated terminal information service.
- Clearance
- Authorization from ATC to proceed.
- Flow control
- Managing traffic volume into busy airspace.
- Handoff
- Transferring control of an aircraft to another controller.
- Holding
- A racetrack pattern aircraft fly while waiting.
- Mayday
- An international distress call.
- Phraseology
- Standard words and phrases for radio communication.
- Readback
- A pilot repeating instructions to confirm them.
- Runway incursion
- An unauthorized presence on a runway.
- Separation
- The minimum distance between aircraft.
- Squawk
- A transponder code assigned to an aircraft.
- Tower
- The facility controlling the airport and nearby airspace.
- TRACON
- Terminal radar approach control.
- Vectors
- Headings given to guide aircraft.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Air Traffic Controller practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Air Traffic Controller training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.