Remote Tower Services

LFV's prize-winning concept for remote tower services means that airports can significantly decrease their costs for Air Traffic Services. By deploying Remote Tower Services, RTS, one or nu­merous Air Traffic Control towers can be operated from another location irrespective of distance. The result is an airport which can offer more flexible air traffic services "on demand" and versatile opening hours to meet cus­tomer requirements.

On June 1st 2021 LFV commissioned the new remote tower centre, RTC Stockholm, for remote air-traffic control at some of Swedavia’s airports. The first airport to be connected to the centre was Kiruna Airport. On December 1st 2021 Åre Östersund Airport was the second airport to be connected to RTC Stockholm. The two remaining airports are Umeå Airport and Malmö Airport.

How Remote Tower Services works

By deploying Remote Tower Services, RTS, one or nu­merous Air Traffic Control towers can be operated from another location irrespective of distance. The result is an airport which can offer more flexible air traffic services "on demand" and versatile opening hours to meet cus­tomer requirements.

LFV has achieved extensive experience in cooperation with the industry as well as close interaction with National Supervisory Authority. The effect of this is that the RTS development process has gone from idea to reality in record time. By the end of October 2014 LFV got the operational approval for commencing Remote Tower Services from our Remote Tower centre (RTC) in Sundsvall, serving Örnsköldsvik airport over 150 km away. In April 2015 the operation started on a H24 basis. This was the start of a new generation of air traffic control and LFV is leading it.

The approval is based on an extensive operational and technical development effort but more important a close interaction with the Swedish regulator, thus providing more than 250 validation, safety, human factors, system descriptions and reports. All forming an integrated evidence that RTS is meeting the highest safety standards and can deliver the same, or better, level of services as provided by a standard tower at the airport.

Reduce your time to operation by two years by using LFV

Based on our unique experience LFV can offer turn key solutions, including operations, or individual services that will enable our costumers to reduce the time to operations of a RTS solution by at least two years. This will enable any airport or operator to unlock the benefits of RTS as fast as possible. We have developed a number of RTS products to facilitate the introduction of RTS.

Benefits of using a RTS solution

  • Provision of cost-efficient Air Traffic Services
  • Opportunity for airports with low traffic density
  • Co-location of ATS services means more effi­cient use of staff and infrastructure
  • Alternative to new construction or refurbish­ment
  • ATS on demand - Flexible opening hours to meet customer requirements
  • Easy to upgrade operational level from AFIS to ATC
  • The ability to provide 24/7 SAR operation and medical evacuation capability at any type of air­port
  • Enhancement of safety through new technology
  • Low cost contingency solutions