HungaroControl has contributed to the concept of Dubai contingency remote tower

An international team lead by Independent Business Group including experts from HungaroControl has been working on a concept of operations (CONOPS), operational requirements and business case for the use of remote tower technology in order to provide a sustainable and safe contingency solution for the Air Traffic Control tower operation in Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS) at Dubai International and Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central. The project also covers an additional feasibility study to assess if remote tower technologies can be used in Dubai in order to ensure contingency sufficient enough to maintain 100 per cent of the actual traffic at these airports.

HungaroControl is currently implementing its remote tower technology at Budapest International Airport, and has been hired to leverage its knowledge of remote tower domain. In spite of the differences between the two airports, there are more similarities when considering remote tower technologies for business continuity. Both Dubai International (DXB) and Budapest International Airport have two parallel runways, an Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) providing core surveillance for the air traffic services. While the airport in Budapest can be identified as a medium density airport, DXB is well known for being one of the world’s busiest international airports. Another similarity lies in the way operations are managed at the Air Traffic Control Towers in these airports. Both Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSP) manage multiple areas of responsibility simultaneously through their dedicated teams of highly experienced Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs).

The concept of this project has been developed through research that incorporated site visits to similar facilities in Budapest, Hungary and to Sundsvall, Sweden by a team of representatives from DANS and the General Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE (GCAA) accompanied by the consultant team. The utilization of remote tower technology will enable DANS to relocate their aerodrome contingency services to a remote location. One of the main elements of the solution is the implementation of a camera technology, which will replace the actual out-of-the-windows view, while ensuring the integration of the A-SMGCS system.