![]()
The FAA announced on Nov. 6 that the first digital control towers in the U.S. are now operational at Bartow Executive Airport (BOW) in Florida and Kenai Municipal Airport (ENA) in Alaska. The agency claims the new towers' technology gives controllers better tools to monitor airport traffic. A digital tower is an alternative to a traditional control tower that uses windows to monitor an airfield. Instead, it uses high-definition cameras, digital displays and sensors to view airport operations in real time. The FAA states this gives controllers a panoramic view of the airfield and surrounding areas, as well as visual tools to identify potential hazards and maintain situational awareness. These tools include automatic target detection, aircraft data tags, infrared cameras and enhanced low-light visibility. Digital towers are meant to be more cost effective than traditional towers, a savings the FAA says could expand ATC access at rural and community airports. "Our air traffic controllers continue to do the critical job of keeping aircraft safely separated, and we're giving them better technology to do that," said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. "Digital towers provide controllers with greater visibility of airport activity and more information to make critical decisions. It's about putting better tools in the hands of our workforce so they can continue delivering the safe, reliable air traffic services the flying public depends on." The agency first began working on digital towers in 2018 under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The system was tested at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace in Atlantic City, NJ. Tests focused on visual capabilities, workstation layout, equipment failure responses and the suitability of training materials. The FAA also states that it did system design reviews for functional, performance and safety requirements. While BOW and ENA are the only current airports with these towers, the FAA plans for five more airports to get these systems as well: Winter Haven Regional Airport (GIF) and Venice Municipal Airport (VNC) in Florida, Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) in Maryland, Johnston Regional Airport (JNX) in North Carolina and Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO) in Colorado. What Operators Need to Know Bartow and Kenai's new systems replace equipment at airports that already had towers — both have had staffed air traffic control for decades. The five airports slated to get digital towers next (Winter Haven Regional, Venice Municipal, Montgomery County Airpark, Johnston Regional and Durango-La Plata County) are currently non-towered, and the FAA says $50 million from the Working Families Tax Cut Act is earmarked specifically for qualified non-towered fields. That distinction matters for operators flying into smaller, rural and community airports, many of which see business aviation traffic that larger towered fields can't always accommodate. If the FAA can bring ATC service to those fields at a fraction of the cost of a conventional tower, staffed airspace could open up at airports that have gone without it for years. Worth watching: whether the five-airport rollout holds to schedule, and whether digital towers clear FAA design approval beyond the current single-runway, Class D scope.