5.13.3 Visual presentation in multiple mode of operation

The provision of ATS to more than one aerodrome simultaneously would be made possible by (a) visual presentation(s) that allow(s) for the monitoring of each aerodrome, enabling ATCOs to maintain ‘control of all flight operations on and in the vicinity of an aerodrome, as well as of vehicles and personnel on the manoeuvring area’ and AFISOs to ‘maintain a continuous watch on all flight operations on and in the vicinity of an aerodrome as well as vehicles and personnel on the manoeuvring area’. In this regard, it needs to be understood that the spirit of the provisions is not to visually observe/survey all parts of the aerodrome and its vicinity (and all flight operations, vehicles and personnel) at every single point in time. This is virtually impossible also from a conventional tower (e.g. it is impossible for the human vision to survey 360 degrees at any given point in time) and likely also in a single mode of operation set-up. Instead, the ‘continuous watch’ here is to be interpreted as keeping continuous awareness of all flight operations, vehicles and personnel, by visually scanning the area of responsibility (i.e. the aerodrome(s) and its vicinity). The visual presentation(s) should be accessible for each aerodrome at all times. To allow ATCO/AFISO to fulfil the duty of continuous watch, the delay to see any part of the area of interest on any aerodrome being under the responsibility of the ATCO/AFISO should not be higher than the delay it would take in a conventional tower (e.g. by turning around to see behind, or to use binoculars), or indeed not higher than the delay experienced in a single mode of operation set-up. The placement of cameras/sensors at an aerodrome in order to obtain the most suitable view of the aerodrome and its vicinity is dependent on various factors such as aerodrome layout and runway orientation(s), layout of aerodrome traffic circuit(s), the sun’s position on the horizon, availability of technical infrastructure, etc. as is the case also when determining the placement of a new conventional tower. In the case of multiple mode of operation, the ATS provider may want to also consider an additional aspect, not related to the local conditions of the aerodrome, but related to the interdependencies between the aerodromes to be combined in multiple mode of operation. For instance, a generic placement of camera towers (if applicable) relative to the runway directions and relative to cardinal/compass directions on all aerodromes may be beneficial for the ATCO/AFISO situational awareness when providing ATS to several aerodromes simultaneously. It is essential that the ATCO/AFISO is, at all times, able to distinguish between the aerodromes at which ATS are simultaneously provided remotely. Note 1: Validation activities and human factors assessments performed in the framework of the SESAR JU programme (refer to [33] & [35]) indicates that the distinction between aerodromes would be supported by introducing overlaid (digital) information in the visual presentation, marking and identifying the respective aerodrome. This may be particularly helpful during darkness, low-visibility conditions and when the daylight/meteorological conditions are similar at different aerodromes. Note 2: Validation activities and human factors assessments performed in the framework of the SESAR JU programme further indicate that the introduction of other overlaid (digital) information in the visual presentation, such as compass directions (e.g. indicating the ‘north’ or the main compass directions (i.e. ‘N, E, S, W’) for each aerodrome), runway/taxiway/apron markings and denominations, ‘visual’ and/or ‘radar tracking’, meteorological information, aerodrome assets/systems status, would support the ATCO/AFISO situational awareness in the multiple mode of operation environment and may also increase heads-up time. When implementing any such overlaid information, care needs to be taken with regard to the possible added dependency on such digital information for the service provision and the potential risks induced by its malfunctioning (see more in Section 5.2.8).