Challenges of Multiple Airport Control: Experimental Investigation of a Multiple Airport Control Concept

Recent developments in avionics and ground-sensor technology have led to multiple approaches toward remote traffic control for small, regional airports. We investigated a new operational concept considering the simultaneous control of several airports from a single remote location in an experimental setup. The number of airports and the control principle - that is, the control of one versus several aircraft at a time - were compared applying a multiple-task paradigm. The impact of both variables on relevant performance indicators was assessed. While performance in issuing clearances was excellent in all conditions, mental effort increased and detection performance deteriorated with the number of controlled airports. Surprisingly, the several-at-a-time principle enhanced detection performance for unexpected events and reduced response times to situational awareness queries.