Midwest Air Traffic Control Service (Midwest ATC)
Private air traffic control company that staffs FAA contract towers and provides ATC and airfield services to the Department of Defense and overseas customers.
Overview
Midwest ATC has provided air traffic control services since 1978 and says it manages more than 100 towers and facilities in the U.S. and abroad. Much of its work is staffing airport control towers under the FAA Contract Tower Program, where controllers work for the company rather than the FAA; example towers include Oshkosh (WI), Worcester (MA), Gary/Chicago (IN), and Cincinnati Lunken (OH). It also hires electronics technicians, airfield managers, and weather forecasters for military and international contracts. Most controller openings require an existing Control Tower Operator (CTO) certificate, but the company also lists a developmental trainee role for graduates of FAA-approved college ATC programs.
Student Insights
A trainee route that does not start at the FAA
Midwest ATC lists a Developmental Air Traffic Control Trainee position for people enrolled in or graduated from an FAA-approved Enhanced AT-CTI or Control Tower Operator-Partnership (CTO-P) college program. Trainees work live traffic under an on-the-job training instructor at an assigned contract tower until they earn a CTO certificate for that facility.
What the certificate itself requires
Standard controller listings ask for a Control Tower Operator (CTO) certificate and an FAA Class II medical. Under 14 CFR 65.33 you must be at least 18 to hold a CTO certificate, hold a second-class medical issued within the previous 12 months, and pass a written test (14 CFR 65.35). Contract tower listings do not state an upper age limit, unlike the FAA's under-31 rule for its own new hires. These jobs are commonly filled by former military and former FAA controllers.
AI Outlook
Contract tower work is conventional visual tower control. The company publishes no AI programs.
Student Hiring
Typical Roles
Notable Programs
- FAA Contract Tower Program
- Department of Defense ATC and airfield services
- International tower and radar services
Career Connections
AeroEd career pathways relevant to Midwest Air Traffic Control Service (Midwest ATC).