Human performance assessment of multiple remote tower operations simultaneous take-off and landing at two airports

Abstract

Remote Airport Traffic Control Centre describes the goal of providing aerodrome control service at more than one airport from a geographically separated remote control centre. The technology is applicable to all airports, regardless of size or movement rate, in some cases potentially as a primary tower and in others as a fully functioning contingency or backup system. The innovative concept of multiple remote tower operations (MRTO) can maximize cost savings by using advanced technologies at the remote tower working positions, which permits less controllers to accomplish the same quantity and quality of air traffic management tasks at an airport. The aim of this research is to assess human performance on multiple remote tower operations by using the Human Error Template (HET). The results of this research demonstrate that advanced technology based on human-centered design has improved ATCO’s performance in monitoring and controlling more aircraft from two different airports. OTW design permits the adjustment of the size of view of the selected airports (100%, 75%, 50% or 25%) based on ATCO’s preference, but they are also able to zoom-in by PTZ to enhance visual searching. Furthermore, OTW allows different colors to distinguish different airports, green for Cork and red for Shannon, further increasing ATCO’s situation awareness to which airport he/she is engaging. The EFS system integrates aircraft strip information with the map of runway and taxiway, providing the ATCO a clear picture of the locations of the moving targets. This is a very effective design to prevent runway incursions. The information presented by the RDP can facilitate ATCO predicting the flow of traffic and landing time at each airport, thereby facilitating enhanced decision making in respect of simultaneous movements at both airports. These new technology enhancements significantly increase ATCO task performance and in conjunction with a good human centered design the ATCO’s decision making capability can also be enhanced.