First U.S. Digital Air Traffic Control Towers Go Live in Florida and Alaska
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on November 6 that the nation's first digital air traffic control towers are now operational at airports in Florida and Alaska, giving controllers better tools to monitor airport activity.
The first digital towers are at Bartow Executive Airport in Florida and Kenai Municipal Airport in Alaska. Digital towers use advanced cameras and digital displays to provide controllers with a continuous, 360-degree view of runways, taxiways and surrounding airspace, along with additional information to support the work controllers already do. The FAA said controllers are still managing the airspace, now with modern technology and facilities.
“Our air traffic controllers continue to do the critical job of keeping aircraft safely separated, and we're giving them better technology to do that,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “Digital towers provide controllers with greater visibility of airport activity and more information to make critical decisions.”
With funding from President Trump's Working Families Tax Cut Act, five more non-towered airports will soon receive the systems: Winter Haven Regional Airport and Venice Municipal Airport in Florida, Montgomery County Airpark in Maryland, Johnston Regional Airport in North Carolina, and Durango-La Plata County Airport in Colorado.
The FAA said it conducted years of testing at the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and other locations to develop standards and ensure digital tower systems meet its safety, accuracy and reliability requirements, and selected the Frequentis system for deployment. (Source: Federal Aviation Administration)
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国联邦航空局总部威尔伯·莱特大楼外景（华盛顿）。照片：MBisanz 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经维基共享资源。 / Photo: The Wilbur Wright Building, FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo by MBisanz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
