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AI exposure Transportation and material moving

Will AI replace airfield operations specialists?

Airfield Operations Specialists. US occupation 53-2022.

4.8%

of the time airfield operations specialists spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of airfield operations specialists' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 255 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 66% of them.Further along than 66% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for airfield operations specialistsWhat airfield operations specialists no longer do alone

O*NET lists 27 tasks for airfield operations specialists. AI use at work shows up in 1 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Provide aircrews with information and services needed for airfield management and flight planning.Core task mostly automated 1.00

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

26 of the 27 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies.Core task
  • Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields.Core task
  • Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel.Core task
  • Coordinate with agencies, such as air traffic control, civil engineers, or command posts, to ensure support of airfield management activities.Core task
  • Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation.Core task
  • Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways.Core task
Show the other 20
  • Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.Core task
  • Manage wildlife on and around airport grounds.Core task
  • Monitor the arrival, parking, refueling, loading, and departure of all aircraft.Core task
  • Perform and supervise airfield management activities, including mobile airfield management functions.Core task
  • Plan and coordinate airfield construction.Core task
  • Relay departure, arrival, delay, aircraft and airfield status, and other pertinent information to upline controlling agencies.Core task
  • Train operations staff.Core task
  • Anticipate aircraft equipment needs for air evacuation and cargo flights.
  • Check military flight plans with civilian agencies.
  • Collaborate with others to plan flight schedules and air crew assignments.
  • Conduct departure and arrival briefings.
  • Coordinate changes to flight itineraries with appropriate Air Traffic Control (ATC) agencies.
  • Coordinate with agencies to meet aircrew requirements for billeting, messing, refueling, ground transportation, and transient aircraft maintenance.
  • Maintain air-to-ground and point-to-point radio contact with aircraft commanders.
  • Maintain flight and event logs, air crew flying records, and flight operations records of incoming and outgoing flights.
  • Post visual display boards and status boards.
  • Procure, produce, and provide information on the safe operation of aircraft, such as flight planning publications, operations publications, charts and maps, or weather information.
  • Receive and post weather information and flight plan data, such as air routes or arrival and departure times.
  • Receive, transmit, and control message traffic.
  • Use airfield landing and navigational aids and digital data terminal communications equipment to perform duties.

How that compares

Among the 44 transportation and material moving occupations, airfield operations specialists rank 3. The group averages 0.6%, and its most exposed job is Passenger Attendants at 11.7%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 252Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers 4.9%
  2. 252Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks 4.9%
  3. 252Structural Iron and Steel Workers 4.9%

Just below

  1. 258Fundraisers 4.7%
  2. 258Public Safety Telecommunicators 4.7%
  3. 258School Psychologists 4.7%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.