Remote Tower - Flygerne etterspør standarder

European Pilots Call for 'Remote Tower' ATC Standards

by Bill Carey

 - November 11, 2014, 3:28 PM

Sweden has aproved a remote tower center at Sundsvall, which will control an airport 62 miles away. (Photo: LFV)

Potential problems ranging from bugs obscuring cameras to more sophisticated cyber attacks should be considered as remote tower services (RTS) become more prevalent, according to the European Cockpit Association (ECA). The pilots’ organization issued a position paper on the technology one week after Sweden gave final approval to begin operating the first remotely controlled airport.

“European pilots recognize that such remote tower services will be part of future air operations and can bring potential benefits if, and only if, they guarantee an equivalent or higher level of flight safety, compared to local air traffic control,” the Brussels-based ECAsaid. “With demand for such remote services growing and technology advancing, it is therefore time for regulators and industry, including pilots, to carefully evaluate the RTSconcept and its technology.”

The remote tower concept combines the ATC functions of small airports at one centrally located facility, or remote tower center. Cameras and sensors installed at the remote airports feed imagery and data in real time to controllers at the center, where it is presented on high-definition displays. International Civil Aviation Organization provisions are “clearly outdated” with regard to the technology, and an urgent need exists to develop common standards and recommended practices, flight procedures, separation standards and minimum systems requirements for RTS, according to the ECA.