AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 53-2022.00

Will AI replace Airfield Operations Specialists?

Airfield Operations Specialists: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 27 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 27 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Airfield Operations Specialists, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel. 50 Estimated Standard 4.3
Coordinate with agencies to meet aircrew requirements for billeting, messing, refueling, ground transportation, and transient aircraft maintenance. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.3
Plan and coordinate airfield construction. 50 Estimated Standard 4.2
Coordinate with agencies, such as air traffic control, civil engineers, or command posts, to ensure support of airfield management activities. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.1
Procure, produce, and provide information on the safe operation of aircraft, such as flight planning publications, operations publications, charts and maps, or weather information. 50 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Provide aircrews with information and services needed for airfield management and flight planning. 50 Estimated Standard 3.7
Receive and post weather information and flight plan data, such as air routes or arrival and departure times. 50 Estimated Standard 3.7
Collaborate with others to plan flight schedules and air crew assignments. 50 Estimated Standard 3.6
Coordinate changes to flight itineraries with appropriate Air Traffic Control (ATC) agencies. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.2
Check military flight plans with civilian agencies. 50 Estimated Efficient 2.8
Train operations staff. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.9
Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.7
Maintain air-to-ground and point-to-point radio contact with aircraft commanders. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Maintain flight and event logs, air crew flying records, and flight operations records of incoming and outgoing flights. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.5
Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation. 15 Estimated No tier 4.8
Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies. 15 Estimated No tier 4.7
Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways. 15 Estimated No tier 4.7
Manage wildlife on and around airport grounds. 15 Estimated No tier 4.6
Perform and supervise airfield management activities, including mobile airfield management functions. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Monitor the arrival, parking, refueling, loading, and departure of all aircraft. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Use airfield landing and navigational aids and digital data terminal communications equipment to perform duties. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Receive, transmit, and control message traffic. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Relay departure, arrival, delay, aircraft and airfield status, and other pertinent information to upline controlling agencies. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Anticipate aircraft equipment needs for air evacuation and cargo flights. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Post visual display boards and status boards. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Conduct departure and arrival briefings. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 27 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 27 of 27. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A standard-tier model or lower covers 43% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 54% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 46% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
15,190
Median annual wage
$56,850
Middle half of earners
$42,000 to $77,340
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+4.2%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Airfield Operations Specialists and AI

Will AI replace Airfield Operations Specialists?

Not on current evidence. None of the 27 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 29 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.

What is the AI exposure of Airfield Operations Specialists?

29 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 27 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 27 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Airfield Operations Specialists tasks can AI already do?

None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel, at 50 out of 100.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 43% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 46% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Airfield Operations Specialists, and what do they earn?

15,190 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $56,850 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +4.2% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Airfield Operations Specialists. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/airfield-operations-specialists

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