The concept of remote (or virtual) ATC services being performed at a location that is separate and away from the respective airport is a fascinating one that warrants further research and industry discussion. The basic principle of this concept is that a remote airport is provisioned and serviced by advanced video-sensor and optical surveillance systems and the signals from these devices are communicated to a central location where large monitors (simulating a 360-degree view) are displayed to an ATC professional (combined with the same air traffic management systems that would appear in a location control tower).
Obvious benefits of a remote tower service include the cost efficiency of only managing one physical environment as opposed to operating numerous towers across a large geographic environment. Managing one tower environment that provides remote services to a variety of airports also allows for the efficient use of human resources – that is, a pool of professionals can easily serve multiple airports at a central location as opposed to having dedicated resources at separate airports. This single pool of centrally located resources would also make it easier for the management of non-scheduled traffic such as diverted services, emergency landings or even medi-vac or RFDS flights.
However, the reliance on tele-communications services for the provision of video and data feeds is a big risk as these services can be disrupted (due to power outage, cut cables or even satellite malfunction). The loss, or even delay, in the video and optical feeds would cause the remote ATC operator to lose visual awareness of the respective airfield and additionally, any delay in the processing and/or display of the visual feed would render a situation where the operator is relying on “old” or stale data. In order to mitigate this risk, system designers would need to implement a range of multiple “back-up” feeds that use different technologies (to alleviate failure in one technology) and at the same time, initiate an immediate and automatic switching mechanism that switches from one system to another in the event that one communication system has failed. This backup and switching technology would need to be in place in order to allow an ATC operator to continue real-time visual monitoring even after a primary system has failed.
From a personal and professional perspective, the concept of remote or virtual towers is an exciting and fascinating concept. There are obvious cost and resource management benefits however the heavy reliance on tele-communication services (and knowing that such technologies do fail or are not available for various reasons) does imply that there are risks for this concept. Systems designers would need to implement a failproof system that is able to immediately divert from one technology to another in the event of any delay or failure. Without this technology, then the visual (and situational awareness) of the remote ATC operator would diminish and in turn, this would lead to a major safety risk.
