Security alerts can shut down control towers. How does the airport ensure minimum disruption in an emergency? This question has been addressed by SESAR looking at contingency situations for airports and developed Solution #13 "Remotely-provided air traffic services for contingency situations at aerodromes".
Contingency towers are not new, and already operate at London, Brussels, and near-completion at Budapest. They provide operational resilience and safety assurance should the primary tower be compromised. This solution brings additional technology into play, and addresses issues including accessibility, training and security to deliver more resilience and a higher efficiency in degraded situations.
This SESAR solution #13 is now implemented ni Denmark, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania and planned in Austria and the Netherlands
