ATC trainee

Pay in the destination countries

Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.

What does the day look like?

An air traffic controller trainee splits their time between 360-degree aerodrome simulators and live operational consoles paired with an instructor (OJTI). Air traffic management runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year across 6 to 8-hour shifts. Under ICAO Annex 11, continuous operational screen time is legally capped at 90 to 120 minutes, followed by a mandatory 30 to 45-minute rest break. Daily systems include Thales TopSky, Indra Air Solutions, Raytheon STARS or ERAM, VHF radios on 118.000 to 136.975 MHz, A-SMGCS ground tracking, electronic flight progress strips, CPDLC digital clearances, and AWOS weather displays.

The glamorous tactical radiotelephony and radar vectoring make up only 20% of the operational shift. Routine surveillance, strip marking, flight plan correlation, and passive conflict detection take 40% of the time. Administrative landline coordination with neighbouring airspace sectors and airport fire services consumes 25%, while the remaining 15% consists of mandatory rest periods and shift debriefings. During operational on-the-job training, trainees do not merely shadow — they actively hold the transmitter and issue live radio instructions under an instructor's override switch.

Where does this lead?