TODAY IN THE SKY
World's first remote-control air traffic control tower is up and running
Scott Mayerowitz, AP Airlines Writer
11 minutes ago
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Stefan Kalm/Saab AB via AP
In this April 2015 photo provided by Saab AB, a plane takes off beyond a remotely controlled control tower at Ornskoldsvik Airport in northern Sweden.
NEW YORK (AP) — Passengers landing at remote Ornskoldsvik Airport in northern Sweden might catch a glimpse of the control tower — likely unaware there is nobody inside.
The dozen commercial planes landing there each day are instead watched by cameras, guided in by controllers viewing the video at another airport 90 miles away.
Ornskoldsvik is the first airport in the world to use such technology. Others in Europe are testing the idea, as is one airport in the United States. While the majority of the world's airports will, for some time, still have controllers on site, experts say unmanned towers are coming. They'll likely first go into use at small and medium airports, but eventually even the world's largest airports could see an array of cameras mounted on a pole replacing their concrete control towers.