In the UK, an air traffic controller’s job is a highly challenging yet rewarding one. It is exciting, at least, but that requires skills and knowledge. Air traffic controllers must be multitaskers with the right decision-making ability. This is also one of those jobs that involves much physical activity and a lot of time on one’s feet. Air traffic controllers can be of many different types that work in the military, airport management, and airlines. In case you want to become an air traffic controller, you have to prepare. You are able to begin your own career with responsibility and a high degree of independence.
How do air traffic controllers work?
The primary duty of a controller is to regulate the air traffic flow. In order to do so, they employ an array of communication and navigation devices. The controllers find different work environments, such as the air, on the ground, and in a tower, that are employed to guide the air traffic. By 2012, air traffic controller median earnings were £80,910 per year. The 10 percent made over £119,000, and the 10 percent made less than £59,000. Although most air traffic controllers are full-time, most of them are found in urban regions.
What is the salary of an air traffic controller in the UK?
£42,000 is an annual salary of an air traffic controller in the United Kingdom. This is more than the average for other professions. It is, however, still less than the average salary in the UK. Most air traffic controllers are either employed by the government or by individuals in the private sector in the UK.
Air traffic controller salary in the UK for beginners
Before you decide on the field of air traffic control, it is important to determine the average wage of this occupation. Nevertheless, such a salary may be different according to the location and experience of an air traffic controller. When you are new to this profession, you can earn approximately £24,000 air traffic controller pay uk annually. Nevertheless, with experience and going up the ladder, your salary will go up. Besides what you earn, you will be allowed to have benefits that include, but are not limited to, holiday pay, pension contributions, and sick pay.
What are the ways of landing an air traffic controller job in the UK?
Do you need a demanding and fulfilling career in the field of air traffic control? There is a need to search the UK job market. Due to the growing dependence of the world on air travel, the demand for air traffic controllers will only keep rising.
So, how do you get started? The initial one is to obtain the CAA Level 2 certificate.
This will give you the foundation you need to work as an air traffic controller. Once you have your certificate, you’ll want to look into getting your air traffic controller endorsement.
It will give you the experience and knowledge required to work as an air traffic controller on an aircraft.
Once you have your CAA Level 2 certificate and air traffic controller endorsement, you need to get your CAA Level 3 certificate. This will give you the experience and knowledge required to work as an air traffic controller in the UK. Once you have your CAA Level 3 certificate, you’ll want to look into getting your CAA Level 4 certificate. Moreover, the experience and knowledge required to work as an air traffic controller in the UK and internationally are important.
Air traffic controller training in the UK
A career as an air traffic controller is a very demanding one that requires a lot of training. Becoming an air traffic controller starts with completing an accredited training program. It will teach you all about the air traffic control system. Once you are through with training, you will be required to sit a certification test. This will require you to be well attentive and quick-tempered in decisions. You must do the best even in case an emergency occurs. When you want to pursue the career of an air traffic controller, you should go a step further. You should be very committed to education and training.
What is the highest salary for an air traffic controller in the UK?
The maximum air traffic controller salary amounts to £35,979 a year. This is extremely high salaries against the average UK salary of £28,235. The air traffic controllers operate in diverse environments to guarantee the protection of the passengers and planes. The work that these controllers do is very demanding with respect to patience and understanding. They have to react quickly over an area control and accurately to a variety of situations. Usually, the air traffic controller’s salaries may increase due to various reasons. It includes your age, experience, and the location you are working at.
What is the median salary for an air traffic controller In The UK?
The average pay of an air traffic controller in the UK is approximately £40,000. Air Traffic Controllers are employed by the government. They have the mandate for the safety of air traffic in the civilian and military airspace. The work is hard and time-consuming, and the shifts can extend to 15 hours. Such a median is not hard to be interested in, which is why there are so many people eager to become one of those professionals. The work may become quite stressful, and you should work more. But it is all worth it because of the gratification of knowing that you have been able to assist in saving lives.
Air traffic control restrictions in the UK
In order to make sure that there is aviation safety, the UK has diverse air traffic control (ATC) airspace restrictions. Depending on the type of restriction, coordination usually requires at least 28 to 90 days’ notice.
Much of the UK’s airspace, particularly that close to airports, is classified as controlled airspace and requires ATC authorization before flying. The majority of commercial and passenger flights take place in the controlled airspace, which is separated into classes and ranges from ground level to high altitudes. Both below and above 24,500 feet, NATS oversees air traffic control services and air traffic controller jobs in the UK.
Air traffic control approval is mandatory before entering restricted airspace, and new rules have been introduced saying that overseas flights arriving or leaving the UK must fill in an online General Aviation Report (GAR) form. Drones and unmanned aircraft have strict airspace regulations, including no-fly zones around the vulnerable aerodromes, military installations, and prisons. Protection areas around the airports and along the runways are enclosed by a specified length of 2,000 feet, which is referred to as Flight Restriction Zones (FRZ).
Air traffic control issues in the UK
The system was quickly brought back online; however, the disruption due to the delay lasted over several hours due to flights and people being in the wrong place. This was not the first time this happened; it was the event that followed a comparable major malfunction that affected nearly 700,000 passengers in August 2023. The airline industry, in particular Ryanair, was rather vocal about the incident in 2025 and wanted NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign due to the continued issues with the ATC system. To solve the occurrence and seek solutions, the Transport Secretary in the UK invited NATS leadership to admit the problem.
NATS verified that there was no cyberattack involved, and the fundamental cause was determined to be a radar display issue that necessitated switching to a backup system. However, due to the enormous volume of travel in UK airspace, such system failures are extremely disruptive. For safety considerations, airlines temporarily lowered flight rates until air traffic was brought back to normal.
Air traffic control failure in the UK
In July 2025, a large air traffic control (ATC) failure at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Swanwick control station in the UK resulted in widespread aircraft disruptions across the country. NATS reduced aircraft operations in the London control area for safety after a “radar-related technical fault” at the center triggered the problem. Before engineers switched to a backup radar display system to restore the system, the outage lasted for around 20 minutes.
The failure rekindled criticism and demands for responsibility. In a similar case that saw close to 700,000 passengers impacted in August 2023, Ryanair was not content with this system failure and called on NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign due to poor management. Heidi Alexander, the Secretary of Transportation, said that the incident was a single incident and that no cyberattack or hacking was evidenced. In order to examine the issue and stop it from happening again, she declared that she will be meeting with NATS leadership.
Air traffic control delays in the UK
The backlog also affected thousands of passengers as airlines were forced to reduce flight rates temporarily for safety reasons. During the system changeover to a backup, human air traffic control procedures were employed.
More generally, staff shortages and capacity management issues have contributed to significant ATC-related delays in the UK in 2025. Over a million customers experienced flight delays on approximately 5,782 of its flights between January and September as a result of the UK’s ATC provider, NATS. Ryanair has started ads encouraging travelers to voice their complaints to government representatives for better ATC services, blaming persistent mismanagement and staffing problems at NATS. Despite these problems, August 2025 air traffic statistics revealed that NATS handled almost 25% of all flights in Europe, accounting for only 1.7% of all delays, while the majority of aircraft (97.86%) had no delays at all.
How do you become an air traffic controller in the UK?
The following are the air traffic controller requirements in the UK:
- To apply and start training as a trainee air traffic controller, applicants must be at least eighteen years old.
- Only those who have completed the necessary training and qualifications and are at the Air Traffic Controller age limit in the UK, 21 years, are eligible for a controller license.
- In terms of upper age restrictions, the majority of UK and European laws (including those cited by Eurocontrol) normally establish a maximum age of roughly 27 years old for beginning student air traffic controller training. There are no exceptions permitted for beginning first training after this age; this age restriction is strictly adhered to.
- Throughout their employment, controllers must also maintain continuous medical standards (Class 3 medical clearance).
- Air traffic control frequencies in the UK are based primarily on the VHF radio frequencies in the civil aviation airband, predominantly in the range 118 MHz to 137 MHz.