London City Airport’s chief executive officer Declan Collier called the creation of the UK’s first digital control tower at the city’s Canary Wharf business airport an opportunity to bring the airport into the 21st century. When the current brick and mortar tower building is decommissioned, responsibility for safe air traffic control services for LCY’s 300 daily operations will be transferred from on-airport controllers to a team operating remotely from the NATS control Center in Shanwick, some 60 miles southwest of London. NATS is the UK’s leading provider of air traffic control services.
London City Controllers Will Soon Separate Airplanes from Inside a Virtual ATC Building
Key Takeaways:
- London City Airport (LCY) will deploy the UK's first remote digital air traffic control (ATC) tower, with operations managed from NATS' center 60 miles away in Shanwick.
- The system uses 14 high-definition cameras, ambient audio, and radar feeds to provide controllers with a comprehensive 360-degree view and enhanced operational capabilities like zoom and aircraft tagging.
- This digital tower concept, developed by Saab, offers benefits such as centralized control for NATS and robust data security through redundant feeds.
- The new LCY remote ATC facility will undergo over a year of testing before its scheduled commissioning in 2019.
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