London City Airport ATC To Go Remote

London City Airport is to become the first British airport to install a digital air traffic control tower and move ATC functions to a remote site.

Controllers will be based at a new control room at the NATS facility in Swanwick, Hampshire and remotely control the ATC functions for the airport, east of London.

The proposed 50 metre (165 foot) digital tower at the airport will have a panoramic view of the airfield via high definition cameras. It will be connected to the new control room, 110km (70 miles) away, by high speed digital link.

“From Swanwick, air traffic controllers will perform their operational role, using the live footage displayed on 14 HD screens that form a seamless panoramic moving image, alongside the audio feed from the airfield, and radar readings from the skies above London, to instruct aircraft and oversee movements,” the airport said.

The tower, due to be completed in 2018, will undergo a year of testing and training before it becomes operational sometime in 2019.

“With London City Airport’s plans to grow… this cutting edge proven technology future-proofs London City Airport’s air traffic control for the next 30 years and beyond,” the airport’s chief executive Declan Collier said.

The technology for the digital tower and remote ATC infrastructure will be supplied by Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions.

London City is to begin construction of a GBP£350 million development this year, which will add capacity for an extra 2 million passengers per year by 2025.