100 Years Air Traffic Control

An incomplete history

On the occasion of 100 Years of Air Traffic Control in 2022, the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations, IFATCA, commissioned a book that examines how air traffic control started and changed over the past century.

Air traffic control was not invented. It evolved out of necessity, following hindsight-realisations that aviation could be made safer and more efficient. In many cases, the trigger was one or more accidents that created a need to improve.

The book does not aim to be an all-encompassing, detailed account but looks key events that shaped our profession to what it is today.