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ACAMS will supply upgraded ATIS solution to integrate with Vaisala and Indra for mirTWR remote tower in Hungary

HungaroControl described the background situation a few years back (shortened from blog.hungaroControl.hu):

In 2017, the Hungarian Air Traffic Service launched the Remote Tower, which enables distant airport management. Budapest Liszt Ferenc is the first airport in the world to use this innovative solution. The progressive technology will be upgraded by HungaroControl in a new project, which will result in a integrated system that will manage the capital’s international airport traffic even more efficiently. Viktor Zsóka, the leader of the company’s system development team, presented the details.

HungaroControl obtained the operating license of Remote Tower in 2017, after the completion of the official certification process. Since then, the company has been operating the Remote Tower control room – located at the company’s headquarters on Igló Street – as a contingency center suitable for live control. However, right after verification it became clear that airport traffic management system is very fragmented, making it difficult for tower controllers to work with, because they have to process a huge amount of information at once. Currently, colleagues serving in the control tower are watching more than ten different screens simultaneously, which are displaying information conveyed by a separate supporting subsystems. In addition, some of them are obsolete – have been used for decades – and are considered to be a so-called “legacy systems”, although in the meantime they have undergone some modernization.

Due to the current level of technological advancement, it is less justified to maintain the current fragmented system, as increased data transfer rates and significant improvements in computer performance allow installation of more integrated systems. In 2017, HungaroControl successfully applied for EU funding with the mirTWR program – which aims to improve Remote Tower technology –, thanks to which the entire control tower management system will be renewed. The company is implementing the project in several overlapping phases.

ACAMS supplied an ATIS/VOLMET solution to Budapest in 2016, see ATIS/VOLMET to Budapest. This system is now being enhanced and adapted to suit the Remote Tower Solution.

The end user is HungaroControl, and the project is delivered in cooperation with Indra and Vaisala Oyj.

Photo Credit: HungaroControl