National
Spanish cabinet authorises airport control towers with no controllers
By h.b.
Sep 10, 2010 - 4:28 PM

The Spanish cabinet on Friday decided to authorise Spanish airports to operate air traffic control towers without any controllers, according to an announcement from the Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega.

The new AFIS information service allows for certain smaller airports to operate without controllers, and the cabinet decision will result in the system being rolled out in several locations.
Airport safety studies will be carried out to establish whether the system can be used and guarantee operational safety.

Aviación Civil will have the responsibility of designating the certified provider of the AFIS service in each airport, while the European Air Safety Agency, EASA, will supervise the process and afterwards.

The use of the AFIS system comes as part of the new Law for Aviation Transit, which includes the modification to the working conditions of the AENA Spanish Airport Authority controllers, as well as the privatisation of certain control towers at Spanish airports.