France selects FREQUENTIS remote digital tower

French Air Navigation Service Provider, DSNA (Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne), has selected Frequentis to supply its state-of-the-art Remote Digital Tower (RDT) solution in France. The solution, to be located in a Remote Tower Centre (RTC) in Toulouse will, in its first instance, manage air traffic for Tours Val De Loire Airport, over 500 kilometers away.

Based on the renowned smartVISION product from Frequentis, already operational in six countries, the RDT will allow Tours Val De Loire airport to preserve passenger traffic and ultimately to increase it three-fold. The solution will include on-site video technology at the airport, central equipment in the RTC in Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, with several working positions, and a test system for training.

“We are pleased to be working with DSNA on its airport strategy, supporting passenger growth in the region. The potential for more regional airports to be housed in the same centre in future increases the operational efficiency of the solution and the region’s air traffic capacity,” says Hannu Juurakko, Frequentis Vice President ATM Civil and Chairman of the ATM Executive Board.

Once a French Air Force base, Tours-Val-de-Loire airport in North-western France is an international airport currently capable of handling 150,000 passengers per year. With the departure of military ATC from the airport in 2021, the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) decided to concentrate on preserving commercial lines of air traffic. The implementation of RDT technology (cameras and sensors) at the airport, feeding information back to high-definition screens in the RTC in Toulouse-Blagnac, will give the airport the potential to develop passenger numbers up to 500,000 by 2035.

DSNA has a long and close cooperation with Frequentis, spanning 28 years working on various projects, including New Voice Communication System (NVCS) – the countrywide voice communication systems for the Grandes Approaches.

The implementation of the first Remote Digital Tower in the project is planned to be put into operation at the end of 2023, with a further four airport towers planned for the Remote Tower Centre.