Wallonia at the forefront of the control towers of the future

Here, no more towers erected on each site, a mast with cameras is enough. The rest can be done digitally in a remote control room. 14 screens for as many cameras represent a 360-degree view of the airport condensed to 221° so you don’t have to turn your head. The precision is stunning. Operators can zoom up to 30 times. Filters protect you from the low rays of the sun, the system helps you in case of poor visibility, protects you from the lasers of the clever ones or identifies debris on the slopes.

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The images are kept for at least 30 days, which allows afterwards to have a memory of what happens at the airport. The use of images obviously depends on what is permitted.

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Saab started working on the technology early, in 2005, when the necessary hardware was not yet really available. So it cost him money, but Saab got ahead of the competition.

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Full screen view

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“Just producing the safety documents required 30,000 hours of work, or a stack of documents 2.5 meters high,” says Per Ahl, CEO of SAAB DATS (digital air traffic solutions).

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It is clear that in Sweden, the barriers have been lifted one after the other. Today, the country – which has a multitude of airports on its territory – is digitizing four of its airports, two of which are already implemented. Things are going fast, after Kiruna (North) and Östersund, there will be Umea and Malmö by February 2023.

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Everything is managed from the LFV center in Stockholm. On a workstation, a real-time replica of Malmö airport 700 km away. On another post, it is the airport of Kiruna 1,400 km to the north which is in front of us. All systems are redundant to avoid any problems in the event of a breakdown.

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5 millions

euros

The contract with Saab for the two Walloon digital towers is around 5 million euros.

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The technology, once seen as best suited to smaller airports, is finding its way to larger ones. Unthinkable not so long ago at Saab where contract opportunities are starting to flow. Around 75 digital control tower initiatives exist worldwide.

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Wallonia in the foreground

These include the airports of Charleroi and Liège. The project was validated a year ago by Sowaer. Skeyes signed with Saab soon after. A single digital control center will cover the two Walloon airports. It should be operational at the end of 2025/beginning of 2026. “You are in the foreground”, we are assured at Saab.

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At Brussels Airport, the calculations were made by Skeyes, but with very recent installations, there is not really a business model at this stage. “We have started in Liège and Charleroi, but we could announce a Flemish airport in the coming months if an agreement is reached”, details Johan Decuyper, the boss of Skeyes. The contract with Saab also covers the six airports in the territory. The contract for the two Walloon airports totals around 5 million euros.

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At the Sowaer, we are very proud. As Nicolas Thisquen, the boss of the Walloon Airports Company, will tell us on several occasions. Wallonia is a region ahead in this field of digital towers.

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Few airports in the world have already gone so far down this digital path. Among the few airports equipped, there are a handful of airports in operation in the United States or also the emblematic London City airport equipped with a digital tower operated from Southampton.

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In Wallonia, the subject imposed itself because of the absence a good contingency system. Lhe two control towers also had to undergo serious renovations. During the study, the digital control room, which is less expensive, became the standard.

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The control center will be located in Namur in the Ecolys business park. The new Sowaer building of 2,400 m² will house its headquarters; 1,000 m² will be reserved for the digital towers of Skeyes.

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As for the future of physical towers, it is not yet decided. Thisquen explains that all possibilities are on the table for the Liège tower. The Charleroi tower, which has had its day, should disappear.

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The next strategic question to be decided in Wallonia will be how to organize the back-up or contingency solution for digital towers.

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Economic gains

Charleroi is above all a day airport and Liège a night airport. In practice, this means that duty controllers must work during off-peak periods at both airports when there are no flights. With a single site, the problem is solved.

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“We are convinced that we can improve efficiency and safety with digital towers.”

Johan Decuyper

CEO of Skyes

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“We are convinced that we can improve efficiency and safety thanks to the digital towers”, estimates Johan Decuyper. In Liège and Charleroi, drones scanned the ground to find the best places to place the cameras.

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Redundancy

For the implementation of digital towers to go well, “you have to have everyone on board, from the regulator to the controller to the airport and the unions”, we detail at Saab.

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Belgian controllers have already traveled to Sweden to observe the operations. The work itself is not so different for them. The digital aspect would also attract younger workers. Essential, because Skeyes will have to renew a good part of its staff in the years to come.

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The future possibilities of digital control towers are great. We think of a lot of tools that we could add over time. For less frequented airports, it would even be possible to work on two airports at the same time on the same set of screens. Ultimately, it will no longer be necessary to have towers at each airportwhich makes the activity much less expensive.

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The summary

• In Stockholm, traffic at 2 (soon to be 4) Swedish airports is monitored remotely using masts equipped with cameras.
• The digitization of air traffic control is in full swing, is arriving in Wallonia and is proving to be full of promise.
• Charleroi and Liège airports will be equipped by 2025, placing the Region in the first wave of equipped airports.
• They will be checked from Namur in a brand new Sowaer building.

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