London May 19 (IANS) London is to become the first UK city to replace its air traffic controllers with a remotely operated digital system the media reported.
Instead of sitting in a tower overlooking the runway controllers will be 80 miles (128 km) away watching live footage from high-definition cameras the BBC reported on Thursday.
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 technology has been developed by Saab a Swedish defence and security company and will be introduced as part of a 350 million pounds development programme to upgrade London City Airport which will also include an extended terminal building enabling it to serve two million more passengers a year by 2025.
It 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 reports the BBC.
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.
The London City Airport is also planning to decommission its traditional tower in 2019 replacing it with a new 164ft digital tower.
--IANS
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London airport to get first digital air traffic control
