Remotely operated airports

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The first plane ever was landed a couple of days ago, using a Remote Tower Services, a system developed by LFV and Saab.  This was in Örnsköldsvik Airport, a small regional Swedish airport, with a passenger flow of less than 100,000 a year.

The development of the Remote Tower Services took ten years and is especially suitable for countries with many small airstrips situated at great distance from each other, which means it is probably irrelevant for small Israel. But Olle Sundin, Director-General of LVF Aviation Conulting, who cooperated with Saab Defense and Security, is proud. “We are the first operator in the world to receive operational approval, and there is a lot of interest among our customers in Sweden and around the world,” he says.

Remote Tower Services involves cameras and sensors at the airport, sending signals in real time to an air traffic control centre. There, images and information of the traffic and the remote controlled airport are displayed on TV- monitors. Thanks to this technology, air traffic can be controlled as it would from a traditional tower.

Two other small Swedish airstrips are standing in line, so to speak to become the second and third remotely operated airports.