Profession air traffic controller

Hundreds of pilots listen to this woman every day

The "box seat" of Alexandra Holzinger and her colleagues in the Vienna Tower(Bild: Urbantschitsch Mario)

A salary to take off and a healthy work-life balance versus responsibility for thousands of lives. Alexandra Holzinger explains what it takes to become an air traffic controller and how much artificial intelligence air traffic control can tolerate in an interview with "Krone".

The highest air traffic control tower in Europe is located at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. At 109 meters high, the tower is also the airport's landmark. Air traffic controllers who work here for the Austrian air traffic control company Austro Control not only have to be free from giddiness, they also have to be team players, responsible and able to work under pressure. They specify the flight route and altitude, issue take-off clearance and give the go-ahead for landing. This makes them - alongside the pilot himself - the most important active safety factor in aviation.