A professional who controls air traffic on and within vicinity of airport according to established procedures and policies to prevent collisions and to minimize delays arising from traffic congestion. Responsibilities include:

• Answers radio calls from arriving and departing aircraft and issues landing and take-off instructions and information, such as runway to use, wind velocity and direction, visibility, taxiing instructions, and pertinent data on other aircraft operating in vicinity.
• Transfers control of departing flights to and accepts control of arriving flights from air traffic control center, using telephone or interphone.
• Alerts airport emergency crew and other designated personnel by radio or telephone when airplanes are having flight difficulties.
• Pushes buttons or pulls switches to control airport floodlights and boundary, runway, and hazard lights.
• Scans control panel to ascertain that lights are functioning.
• Operates radio and monitors radarscope to control aircraft operating in vicinity of airport.
• Receives cross-country flight plans and transmits them to air traffic control center.
• Signals aircraft flying under visual flight rules, using electric signal light or flags.
• May control cross-runway traffic by radio directions to guards or maintenance vehicles.
• May keep written record of messages received from aircraft.
• May control traffic within designated sector of airspace between centers and beyond airport control tower area and be designated Air-Traffic-Control Specialist, Center.