As of June 2026, Air Traffic Controllers has an AI-exposure score of 63/100 (High exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Air Traffic Controllers
More exposed than 77% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$148,080. About 2,200 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
How you compare to similar Transportation roles
Your tasks, by AI exposure
- Compile information about flights from flight plans, pilot reports, radar, or observations.
- Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
- Organize flight plans or traffic management plans to prepare for planes about to enter assigned airspace.
- Relay air traffic information, such as courses, altitudes, or expected arrival times, to control centers.
- Review records or reports for clarity and completeness and maintain records or reports, as required under federal law.
- Provide on-the-job training to new air traffic controllers.
- Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement.
- Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information.
- Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
- Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references.
- Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes.
- Initiate or coordinate searches for missing aircraft.
- Inspect, adjust, or control radio equipment or airport lights.
- Check conditions and traffic at different altitudes in response to pilots' requests for altitude changes.
- Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
- Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
- 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.
- Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers.
- Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.
No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as automatable (90%).
Safer adjacent roles
Your AI-Safe Career Report
Every task scored with what to do about it · 5–10 safer roles with salary, demand & reachability · skill-gap map · a 30/60/90-day roadmap · plus a résumé & LinkedIn rewrite · PDF.
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AI was the most-cited reason for U.S. layoffs through mid-2026 — the workers who adapt earliest fare best. — Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2026The upside: Workers with AI skills earn a roughly 62% wage premium — adapting pays. — PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer, 2026
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