Definition

Memory can be defined as the ability to store, retain, and subsequently recall information. It may involve conscious and non-conscious aspects.

As broadly defined, memory is a label for a diverse set of cognitive capabilities - hence the diverse set of interpretations. An Air Traffic Controller remembers a traffic situation happened a month ago, she remembers exactly the day when she got the licence, she remembers the name of the two brothers that made the first flight in an aircraft, remembers the procedures to transfer the aircraft to the next sector, remembers the feeling of suddenly discovering a potential conflict situation, remembers the specific smell of the Operations room.

Importance

The task of air traffic control involves observing and reacting to events that take place in a part of airspace or a manoeuvring area on the ground, for which the ATCO is responsible, based on interpretation of information displayed at the working position or relayed to them by radio or data communication.