air traffic

American  

noun

1. aircraft moving in flight or on airport runways.

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air traffic British  

noun

1. the organized movement of aircraft within a given space

2. the passengers, cargo, or mail carried by aircraft

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Etymology

Origin of air traffic

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

The pilots “were advised by air traffic control to watch for a military helicopter flying near the airport,” the company said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

She added that air traffic controllers had long raised concerns about under-staffing, describing the tower as a "high-workload environment" where, when something goes wrong, "many things have gone wrong".

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Two air traffic controllers were working in LaGuardia's tower at the time, Homendy said.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Across the United States, major airports have been inundated by flight disruptions, security lines spilling out of terminals, air traffic control outages, and overworked and understaffed employees struggling to keep it all running.

From Slate • Mar. 24, 2026

She posed and vogued, her arms motioning like an air traffic controller.

From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson