NATS - Remote Towers
 

Control without bounds: The rise of the digital 'remote' tower - NATS

NATS busy championing Remote Towers in the UK, presumably for any UK or other airports.

Surprised there's no thread here already, NATS claim even the largest airport will/can be remote towered in future... :cool:

What's everyone's thoughts? Will we really see the likes of LHR and LGW controlled from a box room in Swanwick, and in terms of practicalities, what will be the set up of the ATCOs providing the service? NATS can provide technology, but are they also going to provide the new remote control tower 'room' for every airport across the country? :}

Like most things these days 'remote' or 'digital' towers are driven by the need for industry to sell its systems and the potential to reduce the costs of ATC services. It looks as if industry have been successful in persuading senior managers in ATC that this way of working makes sense.


On the basis that a controller can only perform one role at a time and still has to be trained for that role, I can't see much scope to reduce costs through staff cuts. However there is potentially a big saving if this way of working avoids the need to build a new tower.

Will all those doing ADI/ADV from Swanwick/Prestwick be paid Band 5 and 4 salaries I wonder?

The savings on building new towers and apportioning land for them will be worth it to the airports. Plus I reckon they will cross train controllers so that they can be valid on multiple airports. But Nats needs to do this quick or else they might not have any airports left! And it's all about cuts, they'll try their best not to give anyone more money 😡

There is a thread already. Here's the one I started two years ago:

http://www.pprune.org/atc-issues/557...towers-uk.html

Have to say that I think crosstraining for different airfields will be very difficult. Heathrow has at least 6 different positions in the VCR, Stansted has 3, Luton 2/3 and they are all very very different not like approach units. Other things make it difficult too. Quieter units may be able to cross train but which ones?

Only those which do not have an attached APS section.

https://youtu.be/C1vza1BqgbQ

Split screen mode proved to be workable. We can have EGLC on the top screens and EGGW on the bottom screens.

Recipe for disaster !

Which airport will want to send a very important part of their infrastructure to a Nats office miles away? Once it's all set up they can't exactly change ANSPs easily can they. Good for Nats but for airports?

I agree with kcokayne.
Many years ago, during night duties, we band-boxed Air and GMC onto 1 frequency at night, which involved cross-coupling 2 VHF and 2 UHF channels.
As nights became a bit busier, the airlines complained about having to listen to GMC stuff when they were on the ILS, resulting in both frequencies being kept open, but manned by 1 ATCO.
No-one, including the younger folks, enjoyed doing this. Two frequencies was often hard enough.......Let alone two airports.

Just out of interest, are there any area folks who operate 2 widely-spaced sectors simultaneously on different frequencies? I know EGGP do EGCN approach from Merseyside, but I don't know if they are licenced to do both at the same time?

Exactly this. I expect NATS' interest in remote towers is primarily about locking customers in to a situation that would be prohibitively difficult and expensive to extricate themselves from if they ever wished to change service provider, or take ATC in-house.

All those staff cross-trained on other airports so it's impossible to pin down just who 'belongs' to which one, living miles away from the airport in question or where other ANSPs provide remote services from? Lovely jubbly.

It's a model that's worked well for NATS with the airports that are provided with approach services from LTCC, at least until Gatwick left the fold - but even then it was only Tower, can you imagine trying to untangle an approach sector from Swanwick?

Conversely, one could argue that it's easier to switch ANSP with a remote tower operation.

All the airport has to worry about is the big pipe that feeds data to the remote tower.

To switch ANSP one unplugs the feed from the socket labelled 'current ANSP' and plugs it in to the socket labelled 'new ANSP', who have set up their own remote tower.

From that simple, equipment-centric view it doesn't even have to be in the same country as the airport.

All the financial risk in terms of ATC equipment is forced on to the ANSP.

Interesting times ahead, no doubt.

Hit the nail on the head there. My main worry is that they might try to outsource ATC to another cheaper country using remote towers. There's already talk of using different country's area centres to provide cover if one country goes on strike. Airlines would love that!

NATS not necessarily the first in the UK?

Jersey Airport is set to become the first provider of Remote Tower Service technology in the British Isles

Suppose if were all going to be sat remotely somewhere in 20 years, there's worse places than Jersey....

I went on a famil trip to EGGP about 10 years ago. At that time they told me that the controller working EGGP wasn't permitted to work EGCN at the same time. And if I recall correctly the radar screens were set up so the controllers worked back to back, so they couldn't see both screens at the same time. (That may have changed since then)

Thanks jackie'
It was always odd when I did the Wallasey Sector, and I'd usually be on the landline to EGGP Approach quite a lot.
Two hours later, I'd be on the East Sector, and you'd ring EGCN, and the same voice answered the phone!

Perhaps the EGGP Approach Controller, having taken a break, then moved to the EGCN position and thought it equally coincidental to hear your voice again ZOOKER!

Not at all spekesoftly.
We were great mates, mate.
I had to do all the area sectors apart from Sector 29..............Not bad for someone who was posted in as ADC/APS. :E

If you went to your dentist, and he/she was performing a separate procedure, on another patient, at the same time as you were being treated, would you be happy?
Imagine if a heart surgeon, or a vet, was performing 2 operations simultaneously, and one of them went wrong........
NATS is keen on RPAS technology......But should a 'Drone Operator' control 2 separate RPAS units simultaneously?
Do you ever see a checkout operator, at TESCO, Waitrose or Sainsbury's, working 2 tills at the same time?.........No, I though so.

But it's O.K. for ATCOs.......Allegedly.