Step Toward Remote Tower Center Deployment: Optimizing Staff Schedules

Abstract

Remote tower service is one of the technological and operational solutions delivered for deployment by the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research Program. This new concept fundamentally changes how operators provide air traffic services as it becomes possible to control several airports from a single remote center. In such settings, an air traffic controller works at a so-called multiple position in the remote center; that is, he/she handles two or more airports from one remote tower module, that is, the controller working position. In this paper, an optimization framework is presented for traffic management at five Swedish airports that were chosen for remote operation using a remote tower center designed to serve a number of airports. The problems experienced with real airport schedules are highlighted, and optimal assignments of the airports to the remote tower modules are presented. Both scheduled traffic and special (nonscheduled) traffic at these five airports are considered.