One of the most symbolic images at any airport is the control tower where, from their lofty vantage point, air-traffic controllers monitor flights taking off, coming in to land and taxiing to and from terminals. Increasingly, though, control towers will be shuttered as airports switch to using remote centres to look after flights.

   These centres will be housed in ordinary low-rise buildings, some of which may be hundreds of kilometres away. The centres will receive a live video feed from cameras positioned around the airfield to create a “virtual” image of the airport to be displayed on large screens positioned around the controllers’ desks.

   The technology in the tower Although the airport tower has been synonymous with air traffic control for as long as the modern concept has existed, the advent of super-fast fibre networks, high definition cameras and remote sensing technology is allowing for a revolution....