Tasks of an Air Traffic Controller

Separation:

One of the most important tasks of an air traffic controller is aircraft separation — because aircraft must be kept at a safe distance from each other. 

The separation standards are: a horizontal separation of at least five nautical miles (approx. nine kilometers) laterally and longitudinally; and a vertical separation of at least 1,000 feet (300 meters).

An air traffic controller’s most important aid is the radar screen. This shows a large number of aircraft, some on identical, intersecting or opposing courses, some climbing and some descending. Aircraft entering Austrian airspace are handed over to the air traffic controllers at the area control centre by their foreign colleagues on reaching the border. 

The so-called “label” gives air traffic controllers all the information they need. 

An additional safety aid is the “short-term conflict alert” — an alarm that is automatically triggered if two aircraft are on collision course.