In particular the project should help to improve the airport’s landing capacity in times of low visibility and improve punctuality.

Air traffic management service NATS has installed the technology at the west London hub’s control tower to help air traffic controllers (ATCs) track aircraft when visibility is reduced.

The 87m-tall control tower is the highest in the UK and provides commanding views of the airport and surrounding landscape, but its height can also mean it disappears into low cloud, even when the runways below are clear.

In these conditions, controllers rely on radar to know if an arriving aircraft has cleared the runway.

This means extra time must be given between each landing, resulting in a 20 per cent loss of arrivals capacity, and subsequent delays.

Twenty ultra-high-definition cameras have been installed at the airfield, the views from which are then fed into an AI platform called Aimee.

Non-operational trials are now under way to understand the feasibility of introducing the technology into service as early as this year.

From now until March, Aimee will study the behaviour of more than 50,000 arriving aircraft to ensure the accuracy of the system. The project findings will then be presented to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

It is believed the technology will be particularly useful at night, as the highly sensitive cameras will enable controllers to see the airfield as if it was dusk rather than complete darkness.

NATS chief solution officer Andy Taylor said Heathrow’s ATCs have reached “the extent of human performance” and need technology to improve their efficiency and safety.

“It’s man and machine working in perfect harmony,” he added.

“Right now we’re focusing on when the control tower is in low cloud, where I’m confident we can make a very positive difference.

“But I am convinced that this technology can totally revolutionise how air traffic is managed at airports around the world.”

The trial is part of a £2.5m investment by NATS in a digital tower laboratory located inside Heathrow’s control tower.

Kathryn Leahy, Heathrow’s director of airport operations, said there are typically around 12 low visibility days a year when the tower is surrounded by clouds.

“We need to be a lot more resilient,” she said. 

“When we’ve got low visibility in the morning and we’re being regulated by NATS from an air traffic control point of view, that then knocks on to the next wave of aircraft that are due to depart. You see that knock-on effect through the day.”

Leahy added that the new technology could prevent the need for a second tower to be built with the opening of a third runway.

In December Cranfield Airport in Bedfordshire became the first UK airport to install a digital air traffic control system. 

In particular the project should help to improve the airport’s landing capacity in times of low visibility and improve punctuality.

Air traffic management service NATS has installed the technology at the west London hub’s control tower to help air traffic controllers (ATCs) track aircraft when visibility is reduced.

The 87m-tall control tower is the highest in the UK and provides commanding views of the airport and surrounding landscape, but its height can also mean it disappears into low cloud, even when the runways below are clear.

In these conditions, controllers rely on radar to know if an arriving aircraft has cleared the runway.

This means extra time must be given between each landing, resulting in a 20 per cent loss of arrivals capacity, and subsequent delays.

Twenty ultra-high-definition cameras have been installed at the airfield, the views from which are then fed into an AI platform called Aimee.

Non-operational trials are now under way to understand the feasibility of introducing the technology into service as early as this year.

From now until March, Aimee will study the behaviour of more than 50,000 arriving aircraft to ensure the accuracy of the system. The project findings will then be presented to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

It is believed the technology will be particularly useful at night, as the highly sensitive cameras will enable controllers to see the airfield as if it was dusk rather than complete darkness.

NATS chief solution officer Andy Taylor said Heathrow’s ATCs have reached “the extent of human performance” and need technology to improve their efficiency and safety.

“It’s man and machine working in perfect harmony,” he added.

“Right now we’re focusing on when the control tower is in low cloud, where I’m confident we can make a very positive difference.

“But I am convinced that this technology can totally revolutionise how air traffic is managed at airports around the world.”

The trial is part of a £2.5m investment by NATS in a digital tower laboratory located inside Heathrow’s control tower.

Kathryn Leahy, Heathrow’s director of airport operations, said there are typically around 12 low visibility days a year when the tower is surrounded by clouds.

“We need to be a lot more resilient,” she said. 

“When we’ve got low visibility in the morning and we’re being regulated by NATS from an air traffic control point of view, that then knocks on to the next wave of aircraft that are due to depart. You see that knock-on effect through the day.”

Leahy added that the new technology could prevent the need for a second tower to be built with the opening of a third runway.

In December Cranfield Airport in Bedfordshire became the first UK airport to install a digital air traffic control system.