The Federal Aviation Administration says its first operational digital air traffic control towers are in use at Bartow Executive Airport in Florida and Kenai Municipal Airport in Alaska. The systems give controllers a panoramic view of airfield activity using cameras and screens, the agency announced Nov. 6.
What changes for controllers
A conventional tower gives controllers a direct view of the airfield from an elevated room. The digital systems present a continuous 360-degree view of runways, taxiways and surrounding airspace. Controllers still manage traffic. The cameras and displays change how they observe the airport, rather than transferring their decisions to software.
The FAA’s program timeline traces the work to a 2018 congressional directive to test digital towers as a lower-cost option. The agency lists September 2026 as the point when Bartow’s system went operational. The November announcement identifies both Bartow and Kenai as operational. AVweb also reported the rollout.
Five airports are next
The FAA named Winter Haven and Venice in Florida, Montgomery County Airpark in Maryland, Johnston Regional Airport in North Carolina, and Durango–La Plata County Airport in Colorado as the next five locations. The agency described those airports as currently lacking towers. Its announcement listed the sites but did not give an opening date for each system.
The first two installations show that digital systems can move beyond a pilot program. The next milestone is whether the five additional airports bring the systems into service and what the FAA reports about their costs and performance.