Remote and virtual tower (RVT) is a modern concept where the
air traffic service
In aviation, an air traffic service (ATS) is a service which regulates and assists aircraft in real-time to ensure their safe operations. In particular, ATS is to:
* prevent collisions between aircraft; provide advice of the safe and efficient cond ...
(ATS) at an airport is performed somewhere other than in the local
control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
. Although it was initially developed for airports with low traffic levels, in 2021 it was implemented at a major international airport,
London City Airport
London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...
(84,260 aircraft movements in 2019).
[
The first remote tower implementation providing aerodrome ATS was approved and introduced into operations in Sweden in April 2015, with further implementations in other EASA Member States well underway.] In 2019, Scandinavian Mountains Airport
A Scandinavian is a resident of Scandinavia or something associated with the region, including:
Culture
* Scandinavianism, political and cultural movement
* Scandinavian design, a design movement of the 1950s
* Scandinavian folklore
* Scandinavi ...
in Dalarna
Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales.
Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland
Värmland () also known a ...
, Sweden has been the world's first airport built without a traditional tower, to be controlled remotely.
The concept is also considered as contingency measures for major airports or for apron
An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...
control only.
Concept
Instead of being located in an airport tower, the air traffic control officer
Air traffic control specialists, abbreviated ATCS, are personnel responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. Usually stationed in air traffic control centers and control ...
(ATCO) or aerodrome flight information service
A flight information service (FIS) is a form of air traffic service which is available to any aircraft within a flight information region (FIR), as agreed internationally by ICAO.
It is defined as information pertinent to the safe and efficient ...
s officer (AFISO) work at a remote tower centre (RTC) from where they provide the ATS. The data comes from airport cameras and sensors rather than from an out-of-window view, which is reconstructed as a high-resolution video panorama on a large screen or series of screens.
The RVT concept is aiming at providing:
* Remote tower services at small and medium size airports, by personnel located at a remote tower centre somewhere else.
* Contingency services at major airports, in the case of fire or other events which could take place at the control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
building. The contingency facility should be at safe, nearby, but different physical location.
* Synthetic augmentation of vision to increase situational awareness
Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...
at airports during poor visibility conditions at the local airport control tower facilities.
The full range of air traffic service
In aviation, an air traffic service (ATS) is a service which regulates and assists aircraft in real-time to ensure their safe operations. In particular, ATS is to:
* prevent collisions between aircraft; provide advice of the safe and efficient cond ...
s defined in ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
Documents 4444, 9426 and EUROCONTROL
The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eur ...
's Manual for AFIS will still be provided remotely by an ATCO Atco or ATCO may refer to:
Businesses
* ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies
** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company
* Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...
or AFISO. The airspace
Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...
users should be provided with the appropriate level of services as if the ATS were provided locally at the airport.
The SESAR Joint Undertaking
The Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking is an institutionalised European public-private partnership, established in 2021, to accelerate through research and development the delivery of the Digital European Sky, as part of the ...
projects are looking at RVT concepts, based on either one person controlling one airport, or one person controlling multiple airports.
Modes of operation
* Single remote tower: air traffic controller(s) control a single aerodrome.
* Multiple remote tower operations (MRTO): one or more operators are controlling more than one aerodrome at the same time (simultaneously) or in sequence.[
* Contingency tower: to be used in case the traditional airport tower is unserviceable (e.g. fire), to provide basic level of service. A world's first, Heathrow's Virtual Contingency facility (VCF), unveiled in 2009, housed away from the airfield in a windowless room, can operate at up to 70% of its flights.]
* Supplementary remote tower: an extra tower in to provide an unobstructed view for a new runway in case of airport expansion.[
]
Beginnings
In 1996, at a scientific colloquium of the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance, Kraiss and Kuhlen proposed a "Virtual Holography" concept for ATC with a projected virtual workbench showing the aerodrome traffic in 3D that could be observed at any angle by the air traffic controller.
In 2001, a "Virtual Tower (ViTo)" concept won the DLR's first ''Visionary Projects'' (''Wettbewerb der Visionen,'' WdV) competition with €200,000 awarded for the first two years of research, beginning in 2002. The idea described a remote ATC control room with video-sensor based surveillance instead of 'out-of-the-window' view from a real tower. The initial trials of remote ATS, for low and medium-density airports, have been based on optical
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
sensors (cameras), providing the ATCOs at the RTC with a high-quality real-time image of the runway, the airport apron
The airport apron, apron, flight line, ramp, or tarmac is the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, boarded, or maintained. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehic ...
(ramp) and the very nearby airspace
Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...
. These real-time images are displayed at large monitors providing up to 360-degree view.
Beside the live video feed from the airport, the ATCOs have available the same air traffic management 334x334px,
Air traffic management (ATM) is an aviation term encompassing all systems that assist aircraft to depart from an aerodrome, transit airspace, and land at a destination aerodrome, consisting of air traffic services (ATS) including air tr ...
computer systems
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
as they would have in a local control tower building, being voice communication
Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...
systems, meteorological systems, flight plan systems, and Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...
display systems. The level of equipage might depend on whether it is a controlled TWR service, or a Flight Information Service being provided at the specific airport. Depending on the complexity of the airport, the traffic densities, and weather conditions, it might be preferable to complement the optical images with an advanced surface movement guidance and control system
Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System is a system at airports having a surveillance infrastructure consisting of a Non-Cooperative Surveillance (e.g. SMR, Microwave Sensors, Optical Sensors etc.) and Cooperative Surveillance (e.g. ...
(A-SMGCS) with signal inputs from surface movement radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
(SMR) and/or Local Area Multilateration Trilateration is the use of distances (or "ranges") for determining the unknown position coordinates of a point of interest, often around Earth (geopositioning).
When more than three distances are involved, it may be called multilateration, for e ...
(LAM).
Development and validation
The RVT concept is under development, besides of other former research & development initiatives (e.g. by DLR, DFS, LFV, Searidge Technologies, SAAB, FREQUENTIS, Indra Sistemas
Indra Sistemas, S.A. () is a Spanish information technology and defense systems company. Indra is listed on the Bolsa de Madrid and is a constituent of the IBEX 35 index.
Indra is organized around three business areas: information technologies ...
or the FP6 EU project ART, etc.), as part of the SESAR Joint Undertaking
The Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking is an institutionalised European public-private partnership, established in 2021, to accelerate through research and development the delivery of the Digital European Sky, as part of the ...
(SJU), where Work Package 6 develops the operational concepts, while Work Package 12 develops the corresponding technology to enable the RVT functionality. Live validation trials were planned at a few selected airports in Germany, Spain (ENAIRE
ENAIRE is the air navigation manager in Spain, certified for the provision of en route, approach and aerodrome control services. As a public corporate entity attached to the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, it is responsible for air traffic co ...
), Norway (Avinor
Avinor AS is a state-owned limited company that operates most of the civil airports in Norway. The Norwegian state, via the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, controls 100 percent of the share capital. Avinor was created on 1 ...
) and Sweden (LFV) as part of SESAR Joint Undertaking Projects 06.08.04 and 06.09.03 during the years 2012–2015.
Airservices Australia intended to evaluate RVT technology from Saab Group
Saab AB (originally , later just SAAB and Saab Group) is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. Headquartered in Stockholm, the development and the manufacturing is undertaken in Linköping. Saab produced automobiles from 194 ...
at Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
airport in Central Australia from late 2012, with the control centre placed in Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. In 2019, Airservices Australia selected Searidge as the provider for Digital Aerodrome Services Program at Sydney Airport
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
(SYD) and possibly other Australian aerodromes, to start digital tower trials in 2020.
In March 2009, Saab Group and LFV carried out a live shadow mode demonstration of their existing remote tower concept. This demonstration took place at a remote tower centre facility established at Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
air traffic control centre (ATCC), controlling a flight in and out of Ängelholm
Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600.
The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...
airport (ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
:ESTA) in southern Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. As a contingency mechanism during this trial, the local control tower at Ängelholm
Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600.
The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...
was staffed by ATCOs.
In 2010 DLR carried out the first human in the loop remote tower center simulation, whereas a remote controller operated traffic at two different low frequented airports simultaneously. Despite several biases the controllers' situation awareness was over-average and their workload remained in average range and operational feasibility could be shown the first time.
DLR Institute of Flight Guidance, Saab Group, LVF, Indra and DFS have been the major driving forces behind the Remote Tower development, and are all represented in the SESAR Joint Undertaking projects, SAAB through North European ATM Industry Group (NATMIG) and LFV NORACON.
During ATC Global in Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
in 8–10 March 2011, SESAR Joint Undertaking had a ceremony where Project 6.9.3 'Remote & Virtual Tower' was given the award for 'most advanced for deployment'. The prize was presented by Executive Director of SESAR Joint Undertaking, Mr Patrick Ky
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out Type certificate, certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investiga ...
, and received by Project 6.9.3 Project Manager Mr Göran Lindqvist, NORACON.
In June 2016, Irish Aviation Authority was granted SESAR Joint Undertaking funding for remote tower demonstration. Upon validating single mode operations, the project tested multiple remote tower operations (MRTO) to provide services for Shannon and Cork simultaneously. The Dublin-based centre used SAAB-engineered technology.
In Scotland, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) plans to relocate 5 of their 11 towers (Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
, 31,338 aircraft movements in 2019; Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, 43,354 a/c movements; Sumburgh
Sumburgh is a small settlement in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Sumburgh is located at the south end of the Mainland on Sumburgh Head. Sumburgh Airport is just outside the village to the north. Sumburgh has a population of approximately 100. Ja ...
, 18,056 a/c movements; Kirkwall
Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland.
The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...
, 14,247 a/c movements; Stornoway
Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...
, 9444 a/c movements in 2019)[ to a remote tower centre in Inverness.] The Combined Surveillance Centre (CSC)[ £34 million project is the largest in the UK. The first airport is expected to be operational in 2023, the last in 2027.][
In Romania, ]Brașov-Ghimbav International Airport
Brașov-Ghimbav International Airport ( ro, Aeroportul Internațional Brașov-Ghimbav) ( ICAO: LROV) is an airport development project located in Ghimbav, near Brașov, Romania, right by the future A3 motorway. It is the first airport to be bui ...
, scheduled to commence flights in June 2023, will have a fully remote system, operated from away at Arad International Airport
Arad International Airport is located west of Arad, in western Romania, in the historical region of Crișana. The airport is located only north of Timişoara Airport. Arad International Airport also has a cargo terminal, the largest and mos ...
.
RVT in operation
As of 21 April 2015 12:00 am, the airport of Örnsköldsvik/Gideå (OER/ESNO) is run using remote ATC services from Sundsvall/Midlanda (SDL/ESNN). This is reported to be the first production deployment of RVT in the world. The system was tested at Leesburg Executive Airport
Leesburg Executive Airport at Godfrey Field is a town-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of Leesburg, a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States.
It is a busy general a ...
in summer 2015.
In December 2019, a new airport (Scandinavian Mountains Airport
A Scandinavian is a resident of Scandinavia or something associated with the region, including:
Culture
* Scandinavianism, political and cultural movement
* Scandinavian design, a design movement of the 1950s
* Scandinavian folklore
* Scandinavi ...
, SCR/ESKS) was opened in Sweden without any traditional tower, being the first airport with only virtual tower (operated from Sundsvall).[
On 1 October 2015 the FAA announced ]Northern Colorado Regional Airport
Northern Colorado Regional Airport , formerly known as the Fort Collins–Loveland Municipal Airport, is a public use airport located nine nautical miles (10 mi, 17 km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Collins ...
(FNL/KFNL) (formerly known as Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport) as the first official FAA approved Virtual Air Traffic Control Tower test site in the United States. The equipment and Searidge Technologies Remote Tower System were installed at the airport in 2018-2019, with initial testing and assessments of the new virtual technology commencing shortly thereafter.[ Plans for certification and opening of the remote tower in 2023 have been delayed due to COVID-19.]
On 13 December 2018, the first in the UK remote tower at Digital Air Traffic Control Centre opened at Cranfield Airport
Cranfield Airport is an airfield just outside the village of Cranfield, in Bedfordshire, England. It is south-west of Bedford and east of Milton Keynes. It was originally a World War II aerodrome, RAF Cranfield. It is now used for business a ...
(EGTC). The technology was supplied by SAAB and air traffic controllers were located in a building 400 yards away from the old tower.
On 20 October 2020, Avinor
Avinor AS is a state-owned limited company that operates most of the civil airports in Norway. The Norwegian state, via the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, controls 100 percent of the share capital. Avinor was created on 1 ...
opened a remote control tower center situated in Bodø, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, as a cost effective solution intended for STOLports in Norway
The Norwegian STOLport network (in Norwegian ''kortbanenettet i Noreg'' (Nynorsk) or ''kortbanenettet i Norge'' (Bokmål)) is a network of STOLports, meaning that they are airports with short runways. The standard length of these runways is 800 m, ...
with little traffic. The remote tower technology is planned to be rolled out to a total of 15 airports in Norway by the end of 2022. The first airport to be controlled from there was Vardø Airport
Vardø Airport ( no, Vardø Lufthavn; ) is a short take-off and landing airport located at Svartnes in Vardø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Owned and operated by the state-owned Avinor, it served 14,664 passengers in 2012. The ...
(750 km away) on 7. oktober 2020. As of October 2022, 8 airports were remotely controlled from this center, having about a year delayed plan.
London City Airport
London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...
(LCY/EGLC) switched to remote ATC provided by NATS from their centre in Swanwick in early 2021.
Standardisation
In 2014 the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE
The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) deals exclusively with aviation standardisation, for both airborne and ground systems and equipment. It was created in 1963 in Lucerne, Switzerland by a decision of the European Civi ...
) founded the Working Group (WG) 100 "Remote and Virtual Tower". The WG-100 was launched under the Chair of the German Aerospace Center
The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...
- DLR and EUROCONTROL
The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eur ...
in the Secretary role. WG-100 further consists of active contributors (air navigation service manufacturers & service providers) from more than 30 companies worldwide and acts in close coordination with EASA
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...
, ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
, SESAR, and the most recent SESAR2020 project "PJ05 Remote Tower". The group was tasked as a first step to develop standards for remote towers optical systems. In September 2016 the ED-240 Minimum Aviation System Performance Specification for Remote Tower Optical Systems document was published. These MASPS are applicable to all optical sensor configurations (visible, as well as infrared spectrum) to be used for the implementation of the remote provision of ATS to an aerodrome, encompassing the whole chain from sensor to display. This standard should help vendors and customers to quantify an optimal operational system performance and to verify it in a standardised way.
Subsequently, the WG-100 work focused on an extension of the previous MASPS (revision A) to include 'visual tracking' and automatic Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera object following technologies. 'Visual tracking' is understood as the augmentation of the display of objects on the visual presentation by using information obtained only by image processing of the video from the optical sensors for the purpose of increasing the operator's situation awareness. The PTZ Object Following function attaches the PTZ camera to a moving target and persistently follows and displays it automatically. The MASPS ED-240A have been published on 13 November 2018.
In February 2019, EASA published ''Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services'', outlining operational context, single and multiple modes of operation, system and training considerations, management of change, and possible impact on airspace users. The material includes checklists for implementation and operational use.
In January 2021, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization
The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) is a representative body of companies that provide air traffic control. It represents the interests of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). CANSO members are responsible for supporting ov ...
(CANSO) published ''CANSO Guidance Material for Remote and Digital Towers'', containing definitions, background and technology information, challenges and benefits, four case studies and guidance on starting remote tower operations.
Possible benefits
The main benefit of RVT is expected to be cost efficiency.
The cost savings originate from the following factors:
* No need to build and maintain control tower buildings and facilities at the local airports. The building and operational costs of a remote tower and facilities are much lower compared to a traditional tower.[
* More efficient use of human resources (ATCOs and AFISOs), especially by serving multiple airports with medium to low traffic levels from a centralised location.
* Reduced need to establish and maintain ATM systems locally at the airports. By using data communication networks from the local airport to the remote tower centre, several technical systems can be centralised, hence costs savings are possible. Over 75% of regional airports with fewer than 1 million passengers a year are making a loss.][ These costs could be shared, saving 1.3 million euro per year (in case of Shannon and Cork airports being controlled from Dublin).][
There is also a great potential to better and more cost efficiently serve flights which either are scheduled outside the core opening hours of the airport, or by being able to serve non-scheduled traffic (ambulance flights and search-and-rescue helicopters) with an ]air traffic service
In aviation, an air traffic service (ATS) is a service which regulates and assists aircraft in real-time to ensure their safe operations. In particular, ATS is to:
* prevent collisions between aircraft; provide advice of the safe and efficient cond ...
during night time when a smaller airports would normally be closed.
In comparison to early cost-benefit calculations (e.g. by LFV-ROT in 2008), improvements in technology made the concept even more feasible, e.g. video adopted the HD standard and the cost of high-resolution cameras decreased from over €10,000 to less than €5,000 circa 2018.
Airports with low traffic levels can be controlled simultaneously (Multiple Remote Tower Operations – MRTO), like at the Remote Tower Centre concept at Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...
to provide air traffic services for located over 100 miles away Cork (21,442 aircraft movements in 2019) and Shannon (13,151 movements in 2019).[ In 2016, total movements were 50,242.] Compared to a traditional tower, MRTO for Shannon and Cork in Ireland was anticipated to provide savings of four air traffic control officer’s (ATCO) salaries (£400,000/year) and lower maintenance and build costs (saving £800,000/year).
Controversy
Savings expressed in terms of controller salaries raise redundancy concerns. In Scotland, HIAL's air traffic staff at 4 affected airports are expected to relocate from the islands to the new remote centre in Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
, but only 11% (6 out of 54 survey responses) of employees want to take up employment at the new centre, with some of those considering daily commuting instead of relocation. The Prospect trade union representing air traffic controllers in the UK assessed the plans as having "very significant negative impacts" on the local economy if the centralisation plans go ahead, with 48[ staff at the risk of redundancy (£2.2 million gross annual salaries)][ at "very significant expense to the taxpayer".]
The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) is critical of the multiple simultaneous mode of operation due to limitations of trials: all simulated scenarios are selected samples of reality with possible blind spots, and present incoherent results. The workload study is also missing, and the savings for aerodromes and airlines are uncertain.[
In 2020, ]European Cockpit Association
The European Cockpit Association (ECA) is an organization that represents European pilots. It has pursued the improvement of aviation policies to the benefit of its members, and has frequently spoken out in length on topics such as the impact of ...
(ECA) did not support multiple mode of operations for similar reasons, citing more research required "of human factors, operational and technical implications and adequate mitigation measures". Since very few air traffic controllers held ratings for more than one tower, the impact of changing airports, procedures and weather conditions in one shift on situational awareness had not been adequately studied, and such frequent changes might cause errors and decrease safety of operations.[
While some may argue, there are strong similarities between the concept of RVT, and the criteria for ]disruptive innovation
In business theory, disruptive innovation is innovation that creates a new market and value network or enters at the bottom of an existing market and eventually displaces established market-leading firms, products, and alliances. The concept was ...
s as defined by Clayton Christensen
Clayton Magleby Christensen (April 6, 1952January 23, 2020) was an American academic and business consultant who developed the theory of "disruptive innovation", which has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century. ...
and Michael Raynor in the boo
"Innovators Solution".
A closer examination of the technology and its practical use would indicate that it is more appropriately categorized as a sustainable innovation, marking an evolution in aerodrome control by supplanting visual observation with a surveillance system.
References
* N. Fürstenau, "Virtual Reality for Integration, Proc. 12th Scientific Seminar: The Challenges of Integration", DLR, Inst. of Flight Guidance, 30.-31.Oct. 2002, to be published as DLR-Mitteilung, www.dlr.de/
* N. Fürstenau, M. Rudolph, M. Schmidt, B. Werther
Virtual Tower
in: "Wettbewerb der Visionen 2001 – 2004", Hrsg. Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt (2004) pp. 16 – 21
* N. Fürstenau, Virtual Tower, 5th ATM R&D Symposium (DLR, Eurocontrol, EC), Braunschweig, 11.-13.10. 2005 http://atmsymposium.dlr.de
* Möhlenbrink, C., Papenfuß, A., & Jakobi, J. (2012). The Role of Workload for Work Organisation in a Remote Tower Control Center. Air Traffic Control Quarterly, 20(1), 5-26.
External links
EASA Guidance Material on remote aerodrome air traffic services (2019)
UK Civil Aviation Authority regulatory requirements
Remote & Digital Towers (Special Bulletin Series 2020/21) by ATC Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Remote And Virtual Tower
Air traffic control
Remote control
2001 introductions
2002 establishments in Germany
German inventions