Senior Thai government officials have visited Sweden to observe Saab ‘Remote Tower’ air traffic control system as part of assessment before deciding whether the technology would be suitable for Thailand, according to a senior Saab official. 
Mike Wakefield, Regional Business Development Director Asia-Pacific at Saab AB, said the system was designed with airports with relatively low air traffic in mind. These airports are now individually controlled by traditional air traffic control systems.
The ‘Remote Tower’ technology enables centralisation of air traffic control from major control centres, such as Suvarnabhumi and Hatyai, Wakefield said.
Saab AB said earlier the company is seeing increasing acceptance of the remote tower concept, which combines the ATC functions of remote or multiple smaller airports and heliports at one centrally located remote tower center (RTC). Cameras and sensors installed at the airports feed imagery and information to controllers at the RTC, where it is streamed live on LCD displays. A Saab system configuration consists of fixed cameras, pan/tilt/zoom optical and infrared cameras, a signal light gun to direct pilots and an acoustic sensor.
Source: Saab Thailand
