Page 30 - ATC Special Bulletin Series - Remote and Digital Towers 2023-01

© DFS 30 By Eric Wernsperger, Digital Tower Expert, Frequentis DFS Aerosense and Veit Voges, RTC Product Manager, DFS Aviation Services AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SERVICES REDEFINED SERVICES REDEFINED HOW REMOTE DIGITAL TOWERS ARE LEADING HOW REMOTE DIGITAL TOWERS ARE LEADING AIR NAVIGATION SERVICE PROVIDERS AIR NAVIGATION SERVICE PROVIDERS TO RE-DEFINE THEIR BUSINESS MODEL TO RE-DEFINE THEIR BUSINESS MODEL Remote digital towers (RDT) will revolutionise the role of the air traffic controller (ATCO) and increase the cost efficiency of operations, enabling new and future-proof technology at airport locations. The financial health of both Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) and airports is still suffering from the effects of the pandemic, and in some cases, Air Traffic Control (ATC) services have become a heavy financial burden. This has opened the door for rethinking the way that ANSPs operate across regions and countries, leading to questions about their current operational models, the role of the ATCOs and the cost model for users of these ATC services. The main question has been: how to reduce operating costs whilst still ensuring uncompromised safety performance and capacity? RDT are developing at a fast-pace and according to many analysts and ANSPs they will eventually replace many of the traditional ATC towers due to the potential cost savings, the difficulty to find suitable ATCOs and the consolidation in the industry due to privatisations. At the same time a lot of innovation has been brought into the underlying technologies which has led to the substantial success that remote digital towers have known over the past few years. | SPECIAL BULLETIN SERIES | 2023 | |