London City First in UK to Get Remote Air Traffic Control

London City is to become the first UK airport to replace its air traffic control tower with a remotely operated digital system.Instead of sitting in a tower overlooking the runway, controllers will be 120 miles away, watching live footage from high-definition cameras, according to the (BBC). 

    The new system, due to be completed in 2018, will be tested for a year before becoming fully operational in 2019. It has already been tested in Australia, Sweden, Norway and Ireland. The remote digital system will provide controllers with a 360-degree view of the airfield via 14 high-definition cameras and two cameras which are able to pan, tilt and zoom.

    The cameras will send a live feed via fibre cables to a new operations room built at the Hampshire base of Nats, Britain's air traffic control provider. As well as being able to see it, controllers will be able to hear the airport, as if they were in situ. 

    Unlike the old tower, the new system will allow controllers to zoom in for a better view and put radar data onto the screen to track aircraft.The system made its world debut in Sweden at Ornskoldsvik Airport, where flights have been controlled by a remote tower in Sundsvall, 110 miles about (177km) away, since 2015.