Airfield Operations Specialists
Also called: Airport Operations Agent, Airport Operations Coordinator, Airport Operations Officer, Airport Operations SpecialistEnsure the safe takeoff and landing of commercial and military aircraft. Duties include coordination between air-traffic control and maintenance personnel, dispatching, using airfield landing and navigational aids, implementing airfield safety procedures, monitoring and maintaining flight records, and applying knowledge of weather information.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 19 of its 27 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 7.8% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.8% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.0 hires for every 10 job openings in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which employs about 68% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.9.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $78,590 | $76,400 to $80,540 | not published |
| Alaska | $71,510 | $50,340 to $87,210 | 160 |
| Arizona | $77,570 | $62,140 to $88,420 | 160 |
| California | $62,600 | $54,580 to $86,320 | 1,660 |
| Colorado | $77,500 | $66,670 to $85,810 | 70 |
| Florida | $57,650 | $47,440 to $72,230 | 2,320 |
| Georgia | $66,790 | $32,580 to $78,920 | 340 |
| Idaho | $62,510 | $49,090 to $75,030 | 40 |
| Indiana | $37,730 | $35,300 to $49,960 | 350 |
| Iowa | $48,870 | $37,080 to $61,360 | 40 |
| Kentucky | $123,290 | $61,650 to $159,490 | 290 |
| Massachusetts | $56,020 | $50,770 to $64,750 | 380 |
| Michigan | $61,780 | $49,140 to $78,920 | 440 |
| Mississippi | $44,290 | $39,290 to $67,620 | not published |
| Missouri | $40,360 | $35,990 to $48,790 | 310 |
| Montana | $33,990 | $32,130 to $62,660 | 90 |
| Nevada | $61,350 | $49,820 to $81,180 | 150 |
| New Jersey | $42,480 | $42,480 to $62,340 | not published |
| New Mexico | $69,090 | $53,500 to $81,830 | 50 |
| New York | $42,000 | $37,760 to $47,930 | 2,190 |
| North Carolina | $45,820 | $35,870 to $59,810 | 610 |
| North Dakota | $37,550 | $37,200 to $48,980 | 80 |
| Ohio | $57,140 | $46,380 to $60,830 | 360 |
| Oklahoma | $49,200 | $40,090 to $84,970 | 80 |
| Oregon | $75,130 | $63,440 to $81,470 | 50 |
| Pennsylvania | $55,660 | $35,530 to $81,160 | 340 |
| Puerto Rico | $50,180 | $50,180 to $66,360 | 820 |
| South Carolina | $33,590 | $21,510 to $50,830 | 90 |
| South Dakota | $37,860 | $31,200 to $46,910 | 190 |
| Tennessee | $40,180 | $18,000 to $64,320 | 190 |
| Texas | $60,910 | $47,530 to $102,390 | 1,310 |
| Utah | $59,780 | $49,780 to $77,440 | 290 |
| Virginia | $72,250 | $40,160 to $104,500 | 280 |
| Washington | $84,050 | $79,510 to $106,380 | 150 |
| West Virginia | $28,670 | $28,670 to $40,630 | 60 |
| Wisconsin | $39,400 | $38,160 to $58,550 | 100 |
Nationally: $56,850. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 19 of its 27 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements. | Not published |
| AI + software | Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation. | Not published |
| Not much | Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies. | Not published |
| Not much | Manage wildlife on and around airport grounds. | Not published |
| AI + software | Perform and supervise airfield management activities, including mobile airfield management functions. | Not published |
See all 27 tasks
| AI + software | Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor the arrival, parking, refueling, loading, and departure of all aircraft. | Not published |
| Not much | Train operations staff. | Not published |
| AI + software | Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways. | Not published |
| AI + software | Coordinate with agencies, such as air traffic control, civil engineers, or command posts, to ensure support of airfield management activities. | Not published |
| AI + software | Plan and coordinate airfield construction. | Not published |
| AI + software | Relay departure, arrival, delay, aircraft and airfield status, and other pertinent information to upline controlling agencies. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide aircrews with information and services needed for airfield management and flight planning. | Not published |
| Not much | Use airfield landing and navigational aids and digital data terminal communications equipment to perform duties. | Not published |
| AI + software | Receive, transmit, and control message traffic. | Not published |
| AI + software | Procure, produce, and provide information on the safe operation of aircraft, such as flight planning publications, operations publications, charts and maps, or weather information. | Not published |
| AI + software | Anticipate aircraft equipment needs for air evacuation and cargo flights. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain air-to-ground and point-to-point radio contact with aircraft commanders. | Not published |
| AI + software | Coordinate with agencies to meet aircrew requirements for billeting, messing, refueling, ground transportation, and transient aircraft maintenance. | Not published |
| AI + software | Receive and post weather information and flight plan data, such as air routes or arrival and departure times. | Not published |
| AI + software | Post visual display boards and status boards. | Not published |
| AI + software | Coordinate changes to flight itineraries with appropriate Air Traffic Control (ATC) agencies. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain flight and event logs, air crew flying records, and flight operations records of incoming and outgoing flights. | Not published |
| Not much | Conduct departure and arrival briefings. | Not published |
| AI + software | Check military flight plans with civilian agencies. | Not published |
| AI + software | Collaborate with others to plan flight schedules and air crew assignments. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 27 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 27 tasks fall under 13 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Plan work activities | |||
| Manage control systems or activities | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Maintain facilities or equipment | |||
| Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance |
Show all 13 activities
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Intervene in crisis situations or emergencies |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for airfield operations specialists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 4,096 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 10%
- 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 8%
- 3 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 7%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 6%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 3,830 moves in
- 1 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 11%
- 2 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 7%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 5%
- 5 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 15% some college
- 1% associate's
- 85% not published
O*NET marks 85% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 20 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 16% high school
- 25% some college
- 16% associate's
- 36% bachelor's
- 6% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists” · 367 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists”
1 program: Air Traffic Controller.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 2 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (Airfield Management; Operations Resource Flight/Jump Management). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Airfield Operations Specialists” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/53-2022.00