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

Maven functions like both the air traffic control of battle and its cockpit.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

The war has severed key logistics routes, scared away tourists from cities like Dubai and dramatically reduced air traffic throughout the region.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Department of Transportation mandated that air traffic controllers rely on radar to manage aircraft flight paths, barring them from instructing pilots to avoid aircraft based on sight.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 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

But the air traffic controllers only rolled their eyes.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone