The first Virtual control tower has gone into service in the UK. It is located at the Cranfield University airfield in Bedfordshire. The virtual tower was officially opened and commemorated by the UK Aviation Minister, Baroness Liz Sugg on December 13th. Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions installed Cranfield’s new tower in a jointly funded partnership with the university. Implementation has been swift: the contract was signed in October 2017, with construction beginning in March. Completion of the installation permitted air traffic control officers (ATCOs) to 'shadow' the operations of the existing traditional visual tower for six weeks while Saab technicians fine-tuned the system. Photo by David Donald
It is not just the UK that is working on Digital tower technology. Changi Airport in Singapore has also gotten in the fray with this kind of technology and they are presently trialing it. There are approximately 116 cameras involved in Changi Airport's smart digital tower trial. It is a 22-month project by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and if proven to be successful during the trial period it could change how traditional Control Towers work.
Jersey Airport tower is backed by a remote virtual control tower system. It has been under trials since the end of last year but it doesn't appear that they want to utilize it as a stand alone facility. It is more for a back up and secondary facility in case something happens to the main tower. The remote tower is what they call a 'contingency' facility for times when the airport's control tower is unavailable for whatever reason more in line with an emergency situation or security situation. Frequentis is the developer behind the remote control tower and the below photo is by them.
Here is another one this time in Scandinavia at the Scandinavia Mountains Airport, there is no physical and traditional control tower. In fact the facility for monitoring the planes and giving specific information for flights is located about 190 miles away from the airport in a single-level building. The Scandinavia Mountains Airport is actually not fully operational as yet and is planned to be fully opened in December 2019. If you want to check-out more about this new airport you can follow the link provided below. https://scandinavianmountains.se/
Digital/Virtual tower services soon coming to Northern Colorado Regional Airport. Initially, local controllers in the trailer will handle the traffic, while evaluators employed by Searidge Technologies of Ottawa, Ontario, will conduct “passive” operations from a remote facility. This summer and fall, a second phase of testing begins when ATC services will be provided by the remote tower, with local controllers in the MATCT acting as back-up. As testing progresses, full-time ATC services will eventually be through the remote tower only as Searidge pursues certification of the technology from FAA. (Flying)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now approved the Saab remote tower system at Virginia’s Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) "operationally viable,". It allows ATC services to continue there using this remote/virtual method. The site at Leesburg has been Saab’s U.S. test site for its remote tower technology. In 2019 the site was granted approval from the FAA to conduct an initial operational phase, during which time certified controllers safely managed more than 75,000 operations at the airport.
For all information concerning this type of set up as far as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is concerned see the following link. https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/non_federal/remote_tower_systems
Coming up in March 2023. https://www.remote-tower.eu/wp/digi...-close-out-meeting-on-7-march-2023-in-geneva/
This is an interesting development...concerning this particular site. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opted to discontinue use of this remote tower system located in Virginia at the Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO). The FAA will stop its services in June of this year. NBAA President and Ceo Ed Bolen is pleading with the FAA to let the services continue at the site at least until an alternative is found. "It is concerning that over a dozen safety assessments, an operational viability decision, and years of operational experience, as well as robust investments by the FAA and industry, are being discarded and services will come to an end on the cusp of a busy summer travel season," Bolen said. "The complexities of the Washington, D.C. airspace and the mix of operations at KJYO are not trivial and must be considered before remote services end."
Another remote tower is in trouble too this time in Colorado at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport (KFNL). The FAA said the Searidge system at KFNL is "under evaluation." "We will be able to save it if Searidge can provide the required system design approval documents and the FAA supports the KFNL system," said Bill Payne, who is managing the project for the Colorado DOT. "It will be a shame if the system does not complete the certification process after the state invested $8.8M and the FAA did four years of testing."
Saab is promoting a rapidly deployable version of its digital tower technology, optimized for use during military operations. It is called the r-TWR Deployable.
