Remote air traffic control towers: An application in Portugal

Abstract

Purpose: Remote control towers are the latest evolution in air traffic control at the airport level. These towers replace traditional air traffic control towers, moving the airport's air traffic controllers to a remote location called a remote control center. This concept was introduced with the main aim of combating the shortage of air traffic controllers, as well as making it possible to provide several airports with control that, until then, they did not have or were at risk of losing, because of the costs associated with this service. This makes it important to study this solution in Portugal, as there are many airdromes where having runway control may not be economically viable. The study will focus on a project by NAV Portugal, which is about to implement this solution on some islands in the Azores archipelago.Design/methodology/approach: Having identified the number of movements per month at a few chosen airports, the operational viability was studied according to the number of movements per hour to ensure that several restrictions were met.Findings: Even including the region's main airport, from the point of view of analyzing the number of movements, the installation of a remote control tower is feasible. There is also a substantial economic gain from this new solution, both in terms of implementation and operations.Originality/value: Remote control towers are a new air traffic control solution, making it possible to extend this service to countless airdromes that may be in the process of losing this service for economic reasons, or no longer are controlled by an air traffic controller.