Launch of Digital Tower Test Centre by skeyes

Air traffic control of the future takes shape

Steenokkerzeel, Belgium – On Thursday, April 25, 2024, skeyes presented its latest innovation: the 'Digital Tower Test Centre' at their Steenokkerzeel site. This state-of-the-art centre acts as the prototype for the digital control centre currently being set up by skeyes and SOWAER (Société Wallonne des Aéroports) in Namur. This milestone marks a major step forward in the field of Air Traffic Management.

By 2026, air traffic at Charleroi and Liège airports, which are 100 km apart, will be remotely managed from a single digital control centre in Namur. This will ensure the operational safety of Walloon airports for the future. The integration of modern technologies into the system will make aviation even more reliable and safe.

Digital towers mean the future for air traffic control. Eventually, digital air traffic control centres will take over the role of traditional physical towers at airports.

Through masts equipped with high-quality cameras, infrared systems and intelligent sensors at the airports involved, air traffic controllers will receive the image projected in real time on large screens at those air traffic control centres. The screens display the horizon of their respective airport over the full 360°. A ground radar system also displays the exact location of aircraft even when they are hidden from the naked eye of controllers due to less favourable weather conditions. Augmented reality allows operators to project additional information at each aircraft which will help them manage traffic.

The skeyes project is currently one of the most advanced projects in the world. For the first time, the management of all ground movements, during landing and take-off at two medium-sized airports will be carried out from a remote location. The integration of a ground radar system into the digital tower concept is also a first.

Meanwhile, the Digital Tower Project is also quietly taking shape in the field. On 9 April 2024, SOWAER and skeyes laid the foundation stone of the new control centre in Namur. In November 2023, the first mast was erected at Liege Airport. It is this mast that will initially supply the images to feed the test centre.

In Flanders too, skeyes is preparing a digital control centre, which will eventually serve the airports of Antwerp, Ostend and Kortrijk.

Possible locations for a future Remote Digital Tower Centre in Flanders.
Possible locations for a future Remote Digital Tower Centre in Flanders.

The test centre is almost identical to the one currently being built in Namur. It will also be fed with real-time images from the masts in Liège and Charleroi but will not have the communication module with aircraft. This prototype centre will enable us to familiarise our staff with the new technologies, train air traffic controllers and further perfect the ergonomics of the centre in Namur.

Happy faces amongst the three key players of this important day. Left to Right: Per Ahl, CEO of SAAB, Johan Decuyper, CEO of skeyes, Nicolas Thisquen, President of SOWAER
Happy faces amongst the three key players of this important day. Left to Right: Per Ahl, CEO of SAAB, Johan Decuyper, CEO of skeyes, Nicolas Thisquen, President of SOWAER

 

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About skeyes

skeyes ensures the safety and efficiency of air traffic in Belgium 24/7. The skeyes air traffic controllers manage over 3,000 aircraft every day, which makes up over a million flight movements per year. The autonomous public company is active at the heart of Europe, in one of the busiest and most complex sections of airspace of the continent. skeyes is active at Brussels Airport and at the airports of Antwerp, Charleroi, Kortrijk, Liège and Ostend. Thanks to its CANAC 2 control centre skeyes manages the flight movements above Belgium and a part of Luxembourg up to an altitude of 7,500 metres (*). The company relies on its nearly 900 experienced staff members who are at the service of their customers: airline companies, airports, the aviation sector and the authorities. skeyes also develops innovating services regarding drones and contributes to a sustainable future of the aviation sector, among other things with respect to the environment.

skeyes is a member of FABEC, a joint airspace block (Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland) with the aim of improving air navigation efficiency in the heart of Europe in the framework of the Single European Sky.

www.skeyes.be

(*) The upper airspace of the Benelux countries and North West Germany is managed jointly with the EUROCONTROL centre in Maastricht. 

Contact

Tervuursesteenweg 303 1820 Steenokkerzeel Belgium

+32 2 206 21 11

press@skeyes.be

www.skeyes.be