Remote and virtual tower
Remote and virtual tower (RVT) is a modern concept where the air traffic service (ATS) at an airport is performed somewhere other than in the local control tower. Although it was initially developed for airports with low traffic levels, in 2021 it was implemented at a major international airport, London City Airport (84,260 aircraft movements in 2019). The first remote tower implementation providing aerodrome ATS was approved and introduced into operations in Sweden in April 2015, with further implementations in other EASA Member States well underway. In 2019, Scandinavian Mountains Airport in Dalarna, Sweden has been the world's first airport built without a traditional tower, to be controlled remotely. The concept is also considered as contingency measures for major airports or for apron control only. As of 12 June 2023, Brasov Airport in Romania has implemented this change. Concept Instead of being located in an airport tower, the air traffic control officer (ATCO) or aerodrome flight information services officer (AFISO) work at a remote tower centre (RTC) from where they provide the ATS. The data comes from airport cameras and sensors rather than from an out-of-window view, which is reconstructed as a high-resolution video panorama on a large screen or series of screens. The RVT concept is aiming at providing: Remote tower services at small and medium size airports, by personnel located at a remote tower centre somewhere else. Contingency services at major airports, in the case of fire or other events which could take place at the control tower building. The contingency facility should be at safe, nearby, but different physical location. Synthetic augmentation of vision to increase situational awareness at airports during poor visibility conditions at the local airport control tower facilities. The full range of air traffic services defined in ICAO Documents 4444, 9426 and EUROCONTROL's Manual for AFIS will still be provided remotely by an ATCO or AFISO. The airspace users should be provided with the appropriate level of services as if the ATS were provided locally at the airport. The SESAR Joint Undertaking projects are looking at RVT concepts, based on either one person controlling one airport, or one person controlling multiple airports. Modes of operation Single remote tower: air traffic controller(s) control a single aerodrome. Multiple remote tower operations (MRTO): one or more operators are controlling more than one aerodrome at the same time (simultaneously) or in sequence. Contingency tower: to be used in case the traditional airport tower is unserviceable (e.g. fire), to provide basic level of service. A world's first, Heathrow's Virtual Contingency facility (VCF), unveiled in 2009, housed away from the airfield in a windowless room, can operate at up to 70% of its flights. Supplementary remote tower: an extra tower in to provide an unobstructed view for a new runway in case of airport expansion. Beginnings In 1996, at a scientific colloquium of the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance, Kraiss and Kuhlen proposed a "Virtual Holography" concept for ATC with a projected virtual workbench showing the aerodrome traffic in 3D