What type of airport has an operating Air Traffic Control (ATC) for managing air traffic flow?

A controlled airport is one that has an operating Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower to manage air traffic flow. The presence of an ATC tower is crucial for maintaining safe distances between aircraft, providing critical information regarding weather and runway conditions, and coordinating the sequence of takeoffs and landings. This ensures organized and efficient management of airspace, which is particularly important in busy airports where multiple aircraft may be in the vicinity simultaneously.

In contrast, uncontrolled airports do not have ATC services and rely on pilots to communicate their intentions and operations, which can lead to potential safety risks due to a lack of centralized traffic management. Civil and military airports can both be categorized as either controlled or uncontrolled, depending on whether they have an active ATC presence. However, simply being civil or military does not automatically imply the existence of air traffic control services; hence, this does not adequately define the type of airport in reference to air traffic management.