In the future, digital remote tower technology will enable air traffic controllers to safely guide air traffic at an airport remotely from a single central location.
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Instead of working from the control tower, they will use screens displaying high-resolution camera images in a 360-degree view of the airport grounds and the surrounding airspace. This development, which was made possible in part by an EU innovation fund, should ensure greater flexibility in air traffic control in the future.
Regional airports
For Maastricht Aachen Airport and Groningen Airport Eelde, the development of remote towers is part of the Centralised Base programme. This programme provides for air traffic control at both regional airports to be carried out from the LVNL headquarters at Schiphol in the future.
A working simulator and test environment are an essential step in safely developing and testing this new air traffic control concept. Once the new iCAS air traffic control system is fully operational, LVNL will continue to work on the introduction of Centralised Base for Groningen and Maastricht airports.
Polderbaan Schiphol
For Schiphol, the remote tower project focuses on the Polderbaan runway. Currently, air traffic controllers still guide landing and departing traffic from the tower next to that runway. With remote tower technology, they will be able to do this from the central control tower at Schiphol.
Successful tests have already been conducted in 2024 with a temporary camera setup. Based on the positive results, work is now underway on the final implementation of the remote tower for the Polderbaan in 2026.
Financial support
For the implementation of the remote tower projects for regional airport LVNL received support from the European Commission's CEF Transport facility, applied by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).