DFS Aviation Services GmbH, together with the joint venture Frequentis DFS Aerosense GmbH, has been awarded a consultancy contract for the Australian Air Navigation Service Provider, Airservices Australia, as part of the scope of a Remote Tower project won by its partner Frequentis Australasia Pty Ltd..
Frequentis Australasia is supporting Airservices Australia in the development and implementation of a digital tower solution for two airports. The project is scheduled for completion in 2026.
DFS Aviation Services contributes its operational expertise in the area of Remote Towers to this project and advises on the development of the individual digital tower solution as well as the transition up to the go live. Special attention is also paid here to the human factors that are always critical to success in remote tower projects, due to its fundamental change of the focus area. The natural out-of-the-window view of the air traffic controllers is replaced by a visual reproduction system.
As part of the consulting project, DFS Aviation Services will draw on its extensive experience as a self-certified air navigation services provider and its previous successful international customer projects, as well as its own remote tower solutions within the DFS Group. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung was one of the first air navigation service providers in the world to implement a solution in 2018 for the fully digital remote control of up to three of its monitored airports over a longer distance (YouTube video about the DFS Remote Tower project). With the planned implementation of the Remote Tower centre in Niedersachsen by DFS Aviation Services, two more digital tower solutions will be added in Germany with Emden and Braunschweig-Wolfsburg airports in the summer of next year (News on the DAS Remote Tower project Niedersachsen).
“We are very pleased to be involved in the development and implementation of the optimal Remote Tower solution for our Australian colleagues. Especially the human-centred design and the early and deep involvement of the controllers is key to success here and we are very happy to share the experience of the DFS Group on this. Airservices Australia’s plans for the future digitalisation of tower services are impressive, and their implementation will not only represent a fundamental transformation for air traffic in Australia, but will also influence the entire region,” says Veit Voges, Product Manager Remote Tower Control at DFS Aviation Services GmbH.
Tim Chibbs, Senior Human Factors Consultant at Airservices Australia “Thanks to DFS Aviation Services, we have received first-hand operational knowledge and proven expertise on key issues linked to the Human Factors in designing virtual tower work environments. We appreciate their support and look forward to further contributions in the project.”
Picture: Unsplash, Josh Withers