Hello Tower vs SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hello Tower
Experience realistic airport ground control with this simulation app. Manage aircraft movements, issue clearances, and handle emergencies across over 40 diverse airports. Progress from simple single-runway operations to complex hub airports.
- Airport ground maneuvering simulation
- Over 40 different airports
- Simplified and real-size airport versions
- Pushback, taxi, and take-off clearances
- Emergency handling
- Level-based progression
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Airport ground maneuvering simulation of more than 40 different airports including London Heathrow LHR, Philadelphia PHL, Miami Intl. MIA, Singapore, New York JFK, Las Vegas LAS, São Paulo GRU, Montreal YUL, Boston BOS, and many more. Different versions of airports included: - Play the simplified version, where the airport is scaled down to an easy playable experience. - Play the real thing. Here the whole airport is in real size displayed, where all your skills are required. Features - Give pushback, taxi, holding and take-off clearances. - Handle emergencies and try to release all flights on time in order to release the next level. From an easy single-runway operation at the beginning to demanding hub airports with multiple active runways where all your skills are required.
SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control
Guide aircraft safely through crowded airspace in this radar-style air traffic control simulator. Manage headings, altitudes, and speeds to land planes successfully. Customize your display with multiple radar themes and track your career progress.
- Radar-style air traffic control simulation
- Manage aircraft headings, altitudes, and speeds
- Multiple radar themes
- Flight Log with career tracking
- Smooth zoom and pan controls
- Multi-language support
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Welcome to the Tower. SkyPlanes is a radar-style air traffic control simulator where every clearance matters. Guide aircraft onto safe headings, manage altitude and speed, and bring them home — even when the airspace gets crowded. A crisp green-on-dark display with smooth zoom, pan, and fast selection. Choose from 9 radar themes including Soviet, Neon Cyber, Retro Amber, and Arctic White. Track your career in the Flight Log with charts and session history. LANGUAGES English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Hindi, Tamil, Afrikaans, Turkish, Portuguese Mountain Aerospace 2026
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control at Free against Hello Tower's $2.99. SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). Hello Tower's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (66 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control is free to download; Hello Tower costs $2.99 up front. Hello Tower sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Hello Tower holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hello Tower has 66 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of Hello Tower's written reviews are positive against 100% of SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Hello Tower ships an update every 9 days, SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hello Tower | SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (66 ratings) — better | 4.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 66 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 412 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sascha Trachsel | Elilan Ganesathas |
Customer experience
Hello Tower
SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control
Bugs and requests
Hello Tower
Reported bugs
37 issues- Flight freezing on runway holding and turns
- Aircraft getting stuck and blocking routes
- 30-second departure timer disappearing
- Aircraft crashing with held aircraft on taxiway
- Levels not unlocking
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- Game freezes/crashes, especially at Heathrow
- Separation logic errors
- Aircraft not selectable
- Game hangs/freezes after updates
- New UI is confusing and unreadable
- Sounds missing after update
- Focus on aircraft and readability worsened
- Aircraft symbols obscured by labels
- Tapping messages only selects aircraft once
- Parking spots shown as available when occupied
- Planes crossing paths and getting stuck
- Aircraft becoming 'ghosts' blocking routes
- Runway timer resets to zero before 30 seconds
- Departure separation timer sometimes fails to appear
- Recent updates have made the game fiddly and difficult
- UI is worse after recent updates
- Levels changed after recent updates
- Game becomes unplayable after updates
- Aircraft roll with extreme speed
- UI for iPhones is terrible
- Previous version was better
- Custom game mode is buggy
- Some airport orientations are off
- Ground radars not oriented to true north
- Cannot make aircraft move
- Cannot park landed aircraft
- Game ends with blocked runway when it's not
- Impossible timings leading to penalties
- Aircraft launching in both directions on the same runway simultaneously
- Departure slot timer bug
- Aircraft on final approach not being able to be directed away
- Aircraft on runway preventing others from crossing
Requested features
23 requests- Add more airports (US, European, Asian, Indian cities)
- Add an endless/sandbox mode
- Add AI voice recognition and ATC dialogues
- Implement a tutorial or walk-through
- Add a 'continue game' or save progress option
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- Add more realistic separation rules and traffic patterns
- Improve UI and controls (smaller buttons, better organization)
- Add option to designate departure/arrival runways
- Add rejected takeoffs, emergency vehicles, emergency inbounds
- Add ability to call a go-around
- Allow custom stop points
- Add more sounds for aircraft
- Add a smaller tutorial airport
- Add day/night environment switching
- Add towing/pushback option for stuck aircraft
- Add Chinese language support
- Add more content/levels, possibly a sequel
- Improve graphics and aircraft dynamics
- Add music and better menu
- Add indication when flights actually depart
- Add beacon lights to taxiway hotspots
- Add more realistic taxi speeds and turnaround times
- Add runway vacation instructions
SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Hello Tower
- Hello Tower Test$0.99
- Airport Pack$0.99
- Sandbox test2 variants$0.99
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- Airport Pack$1.99
SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control
- Three Life$1.99
- Ten Life$4.99
- Forest Green$5.99
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- Sunset Orange$5.99
- Soviet$5.99
- Arctic White$5.99
- Retro Amber$5.99
- Lavender Dream$5.99
- Neon Cyberpunk$5.99
- Ocean Blue$5.99
Questions
Is Hello Tower free?
Is SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control free?
Which has better reviews, Hello Tower or SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control?
Do Hello Tower or SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hello Tower or SkyPlanes Air Traffic Control?
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