The better air traffic control (ATC) works, the less likely passengers are to think about it. A flight arrives safely, aircraft move through the skies in sequence and passengers get on with their journeys without ever considering the people coordinating it all from the ground.
That is one of ATC’s greatest strengths, but it also raises an interesting question about the profession itself. As someone relatively new to air traffic management (ATM), I have found myself looking at ATC from a public perspective: How much do people actually know about the people behind the system, and how visible is the profession to those who might one day consider working in it?
ATC is designed to work quietly in the background. But its invisibility stretches to the people who might one day be needed to keep it running.
Intentionally unseen
A passenger may understand that controllers help aircraft take off and land, but the reality is considerably broader. Air traffic controllers (ATCOs) manage traffic flows, maintain separation, coordinate between sectors, and respond to changing weather and unexpected situations. Much of this happens without the passenger ever knowing it is happening.
Even the physical working environment is largely inaccessible. A control centre is not somewhere most people can simply walk into and observe. This makes ATC different from many other aviation careers.
Pilots are visible every time passengers board an aircraft. Cabin crew interact directly with customers. Engineers and airport staff can often be seen working around the aircraft. The controller is unseen, communicating through a radio that most passengers never hear.
This lack of visibility makes it harder for people outside the sector to develop a real sense of what the job involves.
What people don’t see, they struggle to understand
Public understanding and recruitment are connected. For my generation, if someone is interested in aviation, becoming a pilot is an obvious career they can identify. Air traffic control is much less likely to be the first option that comes to mind.
Invisibility is not the only reason people don’t apply. ATC recruitment has other challenges, including demanding selection processes and extensive training. The way future controllers are trained is also evolving, with new approaches being explored to improve the training process and student success.
There is, however, a strong reason to consider awareness as part of the recruitment process. People cannot consider a career they have never encountered, and exposure to the profession needs to happen well before someone starts looking for their first job.
EUROCONTROL has identified the continued recruitment of air traffic controllers as a priority as European traffic grows. Its Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) partnered with GATE Aviation Training in 2025 to provide training for aspiring ATCOs, with the first cohort of ten students having successfully completed initial training and currently undergoing operational training. With long-term workforce planning in mind, MUAC is planning to recruit more than 100 student controllers over the coming years.1
DFS, the German air navigation service provider, plans to recruit 144 new student air traffic controllers across 2026, up from 136 in 2025, alongside around 50 places in related dual-study and apprenticeship programmes. Since 2022, more than 500 people have entered DFS’ ATCO training programme, reflecting a sustained investment in workforce development to meet future operational needs.2
The organisations responsible for maintaining the system are already putting significant effort into finding and preparing the next generation of controllers. That suggests awareness is not a peripheral issue, but part of the workforce challenge itself.
Making the invisible understandable
ANSPs are already experimenting with ways to make that discovery easier and earlier.
DFS offers online taster days to give potential applicants a realistic introduction to the air traffic controller profession. Participants learn about the role, training and selection process and can speak directly with student and qualified controllers. DFS also promotes the profession through school visits and career fairs, helping to attract and inform potential recruits at an early stage.3
Its 2026 Recruiting Day attracted around 2,000 visitors, offering hands-on insight into air traffic control and related careers.4
DFS currently has around 600 young people in training, including approximately 400 student ATCOs, and has increased annual intake into its initial training programmes from 145 in 2020 to around 220 in recent years, with a similar level planned for 2027.4
In the UK, NATS has similarly invested in early careers and STEM outreach, including events aimed at young women and school career fairs. Its 2024 to 2025 reporting also describes efforts to remove financial barriers that could prevent students from attending outreach activities.5
Beyond simple recruitment initiatives, these efforts point to the need to give people an opportunity to encounter ATC before they are expected to choose whether they want a future in it.
Giving the profession a public face
Air traffic control does not need to become a public spectacle; people simply need more opportunities to understand what happens behind the scenes. That could mean meeting controllers, visiting a control centre, trying a simulation or seeing how a seemingly routine flight depends on decisions made long before passengers reach the airport.
And yet, ATC’s invisibility is ultimately a sign that the system is doing what it is supposed to do. Passengers should be able to travel without thinking about the coordination of their flight. I would not want ATC to lose that quality; but I do think there is a difference between being invisible during a passenger’s journey and being invisible as a profession. The first is a sign that the system is working. The second is something the sector can address.
If the next generation is expected to keep that system running, they need to know there is a career waiting for them behind the radar screen. The challenge for air traffic control is to make the invisible understandable.
1 Source: EUROCONTROL, EUROCONTROL MUAC Reports Strong Performance in 2025, Safely Handling Over 1.8 million Flights, 22 January 2026.
2 Source: DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, More Air Traffic Controllers for the Skies Over Germany: DFS Increases the Number of Training Places, 14 October 2025.
3 Source: DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, Reach for the Skies – Online Taster Day for Air Traffic Controller Training, 2026.
4 Source: DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, Around 2,000 Visitors Attend DFS Recruiting Day, 23 June 2026.
5 Source: NATS, Responsible Business Report 2024–25.
