CAREER WITH ATC

Air Traffic Control is a demanding profession which involves split second accurate decisions to ensure safety and efficiency to aircraft carrying millions of passengers and cargo across the globe.

Each ATC unit is a vital link in the global ATC net work and each has to be on par with their international counterparts. Sri Lankan Air Traffic Controllers having proved their ability to perform equally with the rest of the world have a proud history of being highly regarded professionals in the international forum.

The inexorable growth of Air traffic world wide demands highly professional controllers who posses the qualities of abstract reasoning, verbal fluency and manual dexterity among numerous other human capabilities. An ability to cope with high threshold of stress goes unmentioned with the trade that demands 100% alertness in a 24 x 7 environment.

The Air Traffic Control profession in Sri Lanka invites young men and women B.Sc ( Physical Science ) graduates, who aspire to pursue a career related to aviation, to join this promising career which provides immense job satisfaction as well as exposure to almost all related aviation activities.

The aspirants have to face a vigorous aptitude, psychometric, personality and English test. This enables them to join Air Traffic services as a trainee. The process of providing the trainee with knowledge, skills and attitude to perform as an Air Traffic Controller begins at the Civil Aviation Training Center where the trainee will under go training on Basic ATC and Aerodrome control, comprising of theory and simulator training.

Having completed this phase of training, he is attached to Aerodrome control Towers at Banadaranike International and Ratmalana Airports to further train “on the job” and on successful completion is issued a rating by the Civil Aviation authority. After a stint at the control tower a similar training process continues for the phases of approach, Area and Radar control. When an ATC has obtained all ratings up to radar he is considered to be a fully rated controller who can perform at any ATC center.

As an International standard, the controllers have to under go medical assessments prescribed by the International civil Aviation Organization and on declaration as fit to carry out duties, controllers are issued with an ATC license. This license has to be renewed biannually and is mandatory towards performing as an ATC.

The profession of Air Traffic control provides you with knowledge not only with the ATC but covers wide spectrum of aviation related subjects such as Theory of flight, Meteorology, Airport Management, Regional and International Aviation etc… Thus beginning a career in ATC is also a stepping stone towards greater achievements in the field of aviation.