Editing Air traffic controller (section)

=== Aerodrome or tower ===
[[File:Control tower at Birmingham Airport, England 27June2019 arp.jpg|thumb|Controllers often work from a control tower like this one at [[Birmingham Airport]], England]]Aerodrome or Tower controllers control aircraft within the immediate vicinity of the airport and use visual observation from the airport tower. The tower's airspace is often a {{convert|5|nmi|km|adj=on}} radius around the airport, but can vary greatly in size and shape depending on traffic configuration and volume.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-05 |title=What is an airport control tower really for? |url=https://worldaviationato.com/en/airport-control-tower/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |work=World Aviation ATO |language=en}}</ref>

The tower positions are typically split into many different positions such as Flight Data/Clearance Delivery, Ground Control, and Local Control (known as Tower by the pilots); at busier facilities, a limited radar approach control position may be needed.<ref name=":4" />

The roles of the positions are:<ref name=":4" />
* Flight Data/Clearance Delivery: Issues [[Instrument flight rules|IFR]] flight plan clearances, obtains squawk codes for [[Visual flight rules|VFR]] aircraft, helps with coordination for GC/LC, and cuts the [[Automatic terminal information service|ATIS]] (weather). FD/CD is commonly known in the profession as the secretary of the tower.
* Ground: Issues [[Taxiing|taxi]] instructions and authorizes aircraft/vehicle movements on the airport except the active runway(s); controllers are not responsible for aircraft movement on ramps or other designated non-movement areas.
* Local (Tower): Issues takeoff and landing instructions/clearances and authorizes aircraft/vehicle movements on or across runways.
* Approach: Issues instructions to aircraft who are intending to land at the airport. This involves vectoring aircraft in a safe, orderly, and expeditious manner and, if needed, stacking the aircraft at different holding altitudes.