31 Air Traffic Control Towers With Surprising Charm

The tower in the comments section that looks like Darth Vader is money.

Have two ATC friends. One at DFW and one at Fort Worth Center. Got a brief tour of both back in 1999. I commend the men and women that do that job. Not an easy task.

Don't miss the Comments - readers have added more.

Controllers are what makes a Tower. Ours here at KFLO are tops!!!

The DFW Tower shown is the original (then only) tower. Pic is from late 70s. Later East and West Towers were added and the original (now called the center tower) is used as a backup for contigency ops if needed. The outlying towers greatly enhanced visibility on a vast airport and mitigated obstructions caused by the terminal buildings. All three have similar appearance but the outlying towers are much taller.

The ORD tower shown is the original tower connected to the temrinal. They now have a new North tower and plans are underway for a third South tower.

With the subject title thought it was about personnel in the tower...my vote there goes to Steph @ ADS!

I have to put in my vote for Stephanie at ADS as well. Whether it is her cheery voice giving out recorded ATIS reports or live on 126.0 guiding us out and back home, she is always a pleasure and comfort to hear, especially for us new pilots. Such a sweetheart!!

Officially the airport in Sydney Australia is Sydney Airport (at Mascot) or Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport at Mascot. The control tower had geo-technical issues and is a "lightweight construction" http://www.onesteel.com/images/db_images/casestudies/airport6ss2p.pdf. details the issues and construction techniques.
The external spiral escape stairs are an interesting visual feature

I believe the tower for Vancouver Harbour Water Airport, CYHC, is the tallest in the work at 142 meters in height. (granted it is located atop an office building, probably makes it very unique for that).

I don't know about Vancouver's but KLIA 2 control tower is actually 141.2 meters tall and it has been awarded a guinness world record for it...

The controllers in Tower and A&D here at KFLO are great!! No near misses and they go out of their way to be helpful. FAA, not a contract tower.

My favorite's the Abu Dhabi... swoopy!

That was a cool piece! You should also do one on charming ATCs - a lot goes unmentioned when they handle us courteously on the other side of the fence, with the stresses they face in daily life.

Not just in towers, but centers as well.

I've worked in a few as a controller...but must say where I am now takes the cake for uniqueness. Bartow Tower in FL is mostly the same one used when Bartow was an AFB back in the 40's to train its pilots.

Uniqueness=oldness, lol...

Great pics! I'm retired ATC, 2.5 years at KCYS, 22.5 years at KCID. Loved the work, but hated the hours, especially the older I got!

Todays ATC towers are spectacular! I've had the pleasure to visit the towers at DCA, MSP and ORD back in the early 80s. The old radar room at the base of old ORD tower was like a dark, secret bunker. Also toured centers at ZMP, ZAU and ZDC. The controllers and supervisors at all the above were very gracious and I appreciated the time they afforded me!

It a shame the Wellington NZ tower is not there the only tower that is on private property and maybe up for sale if it is replaced

Even though I would never vouch for ATC standards in the Middle East (or Asia and Africa, for that matter), I think Cairo Tower is a stunning creation.