air traffic manager
Air traffic managers coordinate the planning of ground control, the maintenance of the aircrafts, and the handling of customers. They strive for the most efficient use of resources in directing the aircraft. They manage safety, quality, and risks in everyday work. They also plan and compare performance with other air navigation service providers.
air traffic manager air traffic managers coordinate the planning of ground control, the maintenance of the aircrafts, and the handling of customers. They strive for the most efficient use of resources in directing the aircraft. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include geographic areas, air traffic management, airspace system block upgrades, celestial navigation, common aviation safety regulations.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £47,504 a year for Managers in transport and distribution (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £38,009 to £63,027 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 1241). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Managers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only air traffic manager, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 1. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Transportation
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Geography
- Telecommunications
- Mathematics
What you'd actually do
- Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
- Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
- Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
- Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
- Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties.
- Monitor or direct the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does air traffic manager do?
Air traffic managers coordinate the planning of ground control, the maintenance of the aircrafts, and the handling of customers. They strive for the most efficient use of resources in directing the aircraft. They manage safety, quality, and risks in everyday work. They also plan and compare performance with other air navigation service providers.
What skills does air traffic manager need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include geographic areas, air traffic management, airspace system block upgrades, celestial navigation, common aviation safety regulations, use modern electronic navigational aids. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace air traffic manager?
Our AI-durability model gives air traffic manager a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.