KUALA LUMPUR: The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) is set to introduce remote air traffic control (ATC) towers at Penang and Johor airports, a project aimed at enhancing safety and operational efficiency.
CAAM chief executive officer Datuk Captain Norazman Mahmud said the initiative, which leverages advanced technology, eliminates the need for air traffic controllers to be physically present at the towers.
Instead, operations will be centralised at designated control centres.
In Peninsular, the centre will be located at Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre near the international airport, while Sabah and Sarawak will have centres in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, respectively.
However, Norazman said, for the time being, both Penang and Johor airports will have the centre located within the airport compounds.
"This system has already been implemented in Europe, including at London City Airport, where controllers manage operations remotely from nearly 200 miles away. The system has been certified by regulators and proven to be safe.
"The technology is particularly suitable for medium and low-capacity airports while it isn't feasible for high-intensity airports like KLIA. For smaller airports, it allows us to consolidate manpower and improve efficiency.
"The adoption of remote tower technology also is a necessary step as traditional tower systems become obsolete, with spare parts no longer being produced after 10 to 15 years and as such, this is the future of air traffic management," he said.
He added that the project at Penang International Airport is part of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad's (MAHB) terminal expansion initiative.
"The existing control tower will be demolished to accommodate the expansion where around two years ago, we proposed the idea of a remote digital tower to MAHB, highlighting its technical advantages. They agreed, and we will act as their technical advisors throughout the process," he said.
The Johor airport is also slated to adopt the remote tower system, with similar support from CAAM.
Norazman also said the tender process for the project recently closed, and the system is expected to be operational in a timeline from 2026 to 2030.
"The timeline for implementation is one year, but the tender has yet to be awarded. Both the government and MAHB are conducting their tender processes, and we are waiting for the final announcement."