Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan 31;19(3):1623.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031623.

A Field Study on Safety Performance of Apron Controllers at a Large-Scale Airport Based on Digital Tower

Jianping Zhang  1 , Xiaoqiang Tian  1 , Jian Pan  2 , Zhenling Chen  1 , Xiang Zou  1
Affiliations

A Field Study on Safety Performance of Apron Controllers at a Large-Scale Airport Based on Digital Tower

Jianping Zhang et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The innovative concept of digital tower provides a new solution for reducing the construction and operation costs of airports with adverse natural environments, poor intervisibility conditions, or sparse traffic. However, it leads to changes in the situational awareness of air traffic controllers and to challenges in safety performance. To research the safety performance of apron controllers at a large-scale airport applying a digital tower, a field study was conducted at Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China. In this study, we established a comprehensive index system from the perspective of situational awareness, which provided measurements on the areas of interests, gaze and physiological features, and vigilance of controllers. Three modules were compared: a physical tower module, a digital tower module with a large panoramic screen, and a digital tower module with a small panoramic screen. The differences in the safety performances of apron controllers are discussed in two aspects: adaptability and reliability. The results indicated that the apron controllers at the three modules performed different cognition patterns, but similar cognition effort was paid toward maintaining performance. Furthermore, the significant vigilance decrement of controllers exists between after-duty and before-duty, but with no significant difference among the three modules. In conclusion, apron controllers at a large-scale airport could obtain effective safety performances based on a digital tower that were no less than those from a physical tower.

Keywords: apron controller; digital tower; safety performance; situational awareness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The layout of the physical tower module.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The layout of the digital tower module with a large LED panoramic screen.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The layout of the digital tower module with a small LCD panoramic screen.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Controllers’ wearing eye-tracking device and physiological recorder for safety performance data acquisition.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Experimental procedure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. European Aviation Safety Agency . Guidance Material on Remote Aerodrome Air Traffic Services. European Aviation Safety Agency; Köln, Germany: 2019. [(accessed on 10 October 2021)]. Available online: https://www.easa.europa.eu/document-library/acceptable-means-of-complian....
    1. Van Schaik F.J., Roessingh J.M., Bengtsson J., Lindqvist G., Fält K., Sc M. Advanced remote tower project validation results. IFAC Proc. Vol. 2010;43:135–140. doi: 10.3182/20100831-4-FR-2021.00025. - DOI
    1. Leitner R., Oehme A. Planning remote multi-airport control-design and evaluation of a controller-friendly assistance system. In: Furstenau N., editor. Virtual and Remote Control Tower: Research, Design, Development and Validation. Springer Nature; Cham, Switzerland: 2016. pp. 139–160.
    1. Kearney P., Li W.C. Multiple remote tower for Single European Sky: The evolution from initial operational concept to regulatory approved implementation. Transport. Res. Part A Pol. Pract. 2018;116:15–30. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2018.06.005. - DOI
    1. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 2016–2030 Global Air Navigation Plan: Doc 9750-AN/963 (Fifth Edition) 5th ed. International Civil Aviation Organization; Montréal, QC, Canada: 2016. [(accessed on 10 October 2021)]. pp. 69–70. Available online: https://standards.globalspec.com/std/2056143/icao-9750.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources