I’ve been looking a lot for this but I couldn’t really find an answer. What is considered an operation? Is each plane I get into the air an operation or just being ATC on a particular airport for a specific time?
An operation is counted for each clearance issued. This includes tower takeoff and landing clearances along with approach clearances for the ILS and GPS which are worth more operations. A user can also gain an operation for aircraft serviced with radar vectors or flight following while working a radar facility.