What is the function of the control tower at an airport?

The control tower at an airport plays a crucial role in managing air traffic and ensuring the safe and efficient movement of aircraft on the ground and in the airspace immediately surrounding the airport. This includes coordinating takeoffs, landings, and ground operations such as taxiing, ensuring that aircraft remain safely separated from each other to prevent collisions.

The personnel in the control tower, known as air traffic controllers, utilize various tools and systems to communicate with pilots, providing them with instructions and clearances essential for safe operations. This central role in orchestrating aircraft movements contributes significantly to the overall safety of flight operations.

While the other choices involve important aspects of airport operations, they do not directly relate to the primary duties of the control tower. For instance, managing passenger boarding pertains to the airport's passenger services rather than air traffic control. Providing weather updates is a support function that may happen in coordination with the tower but is not the tower's core responsibility. Monitoring aircraft maintenance is typically the job of the maintenance and engineering departments of an airline, rather than the air traffic control function.