Editing Air traffic controller (section)

== History ==

=== Origins ===
Air traffic controlling dates to the early 1920s in the United Kingdom (UK); the first [[Air traffic control|control tower]] was established in 1920 at [[Croydon Airport]]. [[Jimmy Jeffs]] was issued the first Air Traffic Control License. Before 1922 air traffic controllers only provided information to the pilots on the ground.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Trinidad and Tobago Air Traffic Controllers |date=2020-09-08 |title=The Birth of Air Traffic Control |url=https://www.ttatca.org/post/the-birth-of-atc |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=TTATCA |language=en}}</ref> In the United States (US), [[Archie League]] is regarded as the first air traffic controller and was hired by the city of [[St. Louis]] in 1929 to prevent collisions. The first ATCs used basic visual communication methods such as flags to communicate with pilots.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |work=[[Federal Aviation Administration]] |date=16 Nov 2021 |title=Photo Album - Air Traffic Control |url=https://www.faa.gov/about/history/photo_album/air_traffic_control |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250129122921/https://www.faa.gov/about/history/photo_album/air_traffic_control |archive-date=29 Jan 2025 |access-date=4 Feb 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=NATCA |date=4 Feb 2025 |title=A History of Air Traffic Control |url=https://www.natca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/NATCA_ATC_History.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512012956/http://www.natca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/NATCA_ATC_History.pdf8 |archive-date=May 12, 2024 |access-date=4 Feb 2024}}</ref>

=== Introduction of radar and radio communication ===
[[File:A Waaf Corporal Ach-gd Watches From the Control Tower As An Aircraft Comes in CH8136.jpg|thumb|A [[Women's Auxiliary Air Force]] Corporal watching an aircraft approach from a control tower. On the table are a radio receiver, hand-held [[Signal lamp|Aldis signalling lamp]], and log book.]]
In 1930 [[Cleveland Airport]] opened the first tower using two-way radio communication and in 1946 [[Weir-Cook Airport|Indianapolis International Airport]] (then Weir-Cook airport) became the first civilian airport to have radar installed.<ref name=":1" /> This allowed controllers to monitor aircraft positions in real-time, even in poor visibility conditions. Together with radio communication with the pilots, this laid the foundation for [[Ground-controlled approach|Ground Control Approaches]] and later [[Instrument landing system|Instrument landing system (ILS)]].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |date=2021-10-21 |title=Air Traffic Control |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/air-traffic-control |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=airandspace.si.edu |language=en}}</ref> These innovations fundamentally changed the profession of air traffic controllers from guidance and ground controlling to actively guiding planes that are already in the air and making sure they land safely.<ref name="auto1"/>

=== Developments until today ===
Since the introduction of radar in the 1950s, the field of air traffic control is still undergoing major innovations; [[Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast]] (ADS-B) technology is being expanded world wide providing even more accurate position information to the controller providing them with more advanced assistance systems.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Role of Technology in Modern Air Traffic Control |url=https://www.careerroo.com/magazine/the-role-of-technology-in-modern-air-traffic-control/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Careerroo |language=en}}</ref>

=== Future prospects ===
{{See also|Next Generation Air Transportation System}}

With new technologies such as [[artificial intelligence]] emerging, efforts to automate certain tasks of ATCs began.<ref name=":2" />

The focus of the industry is on the development of assisting and predicting artificial intelligence tools as well as the automation of repetitive tasks rather than attempts to replace the controllers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2024-11-29 |title=How AI is being piloted to help direct air traffic at Heathrow airport |url=https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/11/29/one-of-the-worlds-busiest-airports-is-piloting-using-ai-to-assist-air-traffic-control |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pritchett |first=Amy |date=2024-02-12 |title=Why AI can't replace air traffic controllers |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/why-ai-cant-replace-air-trafficcontrollers/index.html |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-15 |title=Digitalisation and AI in air traffic control: balancing innovation with the human element {{!}} EUROCONTROL |url=https://www.eurocontrol.int/article/digitalisation-and-ai-air-traffic-control-balancing-innovation-human-element |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=eurocontrol.int |language=en}}</ref> There is a consensus among developers and airport operators that, in the foreseeable future, air traffic controllers will tend to be more of a system manager overseeing decisions made by automated systems and intervening to resolve unexpected situations, which is currently one of the most difficult tasks for artificial intelligence, making full replacement unlikely.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Copperchase |date=2024-06-19 |title=What Changes Could We See In The Future Of Air Traffic Control? |url=https://www.copperchase.co.uk/changes-could-see-air-traffic-control/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Copperchase Ltd |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Innovation in the air traffic control service |url=https://www.innosuisse.admin.ch/en/innovation-in-the-air-traffic-control-service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250205234323/https://www.innosuisse.admin.ch/en/innovation-in-the-air-traffic-control-service |archive-date=2025-02-05 |access-date=2025-02-05 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=SESAR Joint Undertaking. |url=https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2829/945876 |title=Automation in air traffic management :long term vision and initial research roadmap : summary report. |date=2020 |publisher=Publications Office |location=LU |doi=10.2829/945876|isbn=978-92-9216-159-0 }}</ref> One challenge with partially automated workflows is the potential for skill and knowledge disintegration due to reduced daily practice. One possible solution is the use of computer-based training or [[simulation]] technologies to maintain continuous learning and proficiency.<ref>{{Cite web |work=EASA Together4Safety |publisher=[[European Union Aviation Safety Agency]] |date=4 Aug 2021 |title=Safety Issue Report – Skills and Knowledge Degradation due to Lack of Recent Practice |url=https://www.easa.europa.eu/community/system/files/2021-08/Safety%20Issue%20Report%20-%20%20Skills%20and%20Knowledge%20Degradation_REV2%20Clean_0.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001112128/https://www.easa.europa.eu/community/system/files/2021-08/Safety%20Issue%20Report%20-%20%20Skills%20and%20Knowledge%20Degradation_REV2%20Clean_0.pdf |archive-date=1 Oct 2024 |access-date=6 Feb 2025}}</ref>

Another approach to modernization is the construction of fully digital [[remote and virtual tower]]s that can be accessed from anywhere in the world allowing for controllers to work remotely. Developments are already advanced, with the first remote-controlled tower having opened in Sweden in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remote ATC towers and the changing airport landscape |url=https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/115098/remote-digital-towers-evolution-atm/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=International Airport Review |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-06-30 |title=World's first remote air traffic control tower to open in Sweden |url=https://newatlas.com/worlds-first-remote-air-traffic-control-tower-saab-sweden/32735/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref>

Another concern is the acceptance or willingness by the controllers to use such technology. In a study with 500 air traffic controllers Bekier et al. found that as soon as the focus of decision-making shifts away from the air traffic controller, support for the technology dramatically decreases.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bekier |first1=Marek |last2=Molesworth |first2=Brett R. C. |last3=Williamson |first3=Ann |date=2012-02-01 |title=Tipping point: The narrow path between automation acceptance and rejection in air traffic management |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S092575351100230X |journal=Safety Science |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=259–265 |doi=10.1016/j.ssci.2011.08.059 |issn=0925-7535|url-access=subscription }}</ref>