Air Traffic Control Engineers use screens displaying real-time panoramic views of the runways and docking gates, as they work on a non-operational trial in the NATS Digital Tower Laboratory, inside the control tower at London Heathrow Airport in west London on January 23, 2019. - Air traffic management service NATS has begun a trial at Heathrow Airport, to test if the use of ultra HD 4K cameras combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology, could be used to help improve the airport's landing capacity in times of low visibility, and improve punctuality. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP)
London’s Heathrow airport will test an array of ultra high-definition cameras to help determine more accurately when its runways are clear of planes and cut the gap between flights by as much as 20 seconds.
If successful, the system will initially be deployed when Heathrow’s 285-foot control tower is shrouded in cloud – a situation that currently compels the airport to rely on radar readings to determine the position of jets. That in turn requires a bigger gap between flights, costing the hub nine landings an hour or 20% of the usual total.
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