by Elsie Clark | Dec 16, 2025 | Connectivity, Innovation
Searidge Technologies has successfully implemented a digital control tower at Vigo Airport, Spain.
The first of its kind in the country, the tower features a high-resolution, 360-degree real-time visual display of traffic at the airport. Developed in partnership with Skyway, the system has been approved by the aviation authorities and is now in operation.
The display uses a feed of sensors and cameras to enhance traffic controllers’ situational awareness, ultimately improving the safety and efficiency of the airport. Searidge Technologies CEO Moodie Cheikh said:
We’re proud to support Aena [Spain’s airport operator] in achieving this important milestone.
The operational launch at Vigo marks a first for Spain and underscores Europe’s leadership in digital tower innovation. We look forward to continuing our collaboration as Aena advances its strategy to digitise and future-proof airport operations across the country.
A phased introduction will ensure safety standards are upheld during the transition to the digital system. Operations will first take place during times of low air traffic with standard control towers as a backup. The new system puts Vigo in line with modern international airports including Dubai International, London Heathrow, and Singapore Changi. Searidge’s digital tower has also been in operation at Hamad International Airport in Saudi Arabia, the first large-scale system of its kind approved by regulators in the Middle East
The news at Vigo Airport comes after IATA revealed that air traffic control delays in Europe have more than doubled since 2015.
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by Elsie Clark | Dec 9, 2025 | Connectivity
Research from IATA has found that air traffic control (ATC) delays in Europe have doubled over the past decade.
This increase has far outpaced the rate of traffic growth (6.7%), and affected 1.1 billion passengers. IATA estimates the delays have collectively cost the industry €16.1 billion since 2015. Delays due to weather and strikes were not covered in the analysis, which found staff shortages to be overwhelmingly responsible for ATC’s poor performance.
Staff capacity-related disruptions have increased by 179.7% and staffing-related delays by 201.7% since 2015. IATA Director-General Willie Walsh commented:
We’re now seeing the consequences of Europe’s failure to get a grip on air traffic control. A small, expected improvement in 2025 from a very bad 2024 does not change the deterioration that we have seen over the last decade. Airlines and travellers were promised a Single European Sky that would cut delays and reduce fuel burn through more efficient navigation and routes. Instead, passengers have seen delays more than double.
10 of the 39 European Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) were responsible for 87% of all delays. France (DSNA) and Germany (DFS) alone were responsible for more than 50% of delays. These statistics demonstrate how a handful of countries are having a disproportionately negative impact on the continent’s ATC performance.
Walsh added:
While Eurocrats debate ways to increase the burden of EU261 passenger compensation, the root cause of much of the delay suffered by travellers—air traffic control—escapes without action or censure. And Europe’s connectivity and competitiveness suffer from schedules that must accommodate ATC inefficiency. It is completely unacceptable.
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by Elsie Clark | Dec 3, 2025 | Connectivity
India’s Civil Aviation Minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, has confirmed that ‘regular’ jamming and spoofing incidents have been taking place at the country’s airports since 2023.
In a written answer presented to parliament, the minister reported that his department was aware of GPS disruption at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport, as well as at Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.
The source of the jamming and spoofing is yet to be confirmed, though as of yet it has not led to any harm. With critical flight control software relying on GPS, any interference can have disastrous safety consequences. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has asked the Wireless Monitoring Organization to trace the source.
The minister’s statement adds:
[AAI] is implementing advanced cyber security solutions for IT Networks and Infrastructure. […] Cyber security is ensured by continuous upgradation. As the nature and type of the threat changes, new protective measures are being taken.
The number of GPS spoofing and jamming incidents has risen substantially in recent years, especially in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In September 2025, a plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, was even forced to land in Bulgaria using paper maps due to GPS interference.
States in Scandinavia and the Baltics have also complained of repeated GPS spoofing, blaming Russian activity for the disruption. At the same time, the European Space Agency (ESA) is investing in quantum positioning technology to try and overcome the security weaknesses of GPS.
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by Elsie Clark | Dec 2, 2025 | Connectivity
Austro Control, Austria’s air navigation service provider, has selected ADB Safegate to undertake a comprehensive overhaul of the air traffic control (ATC) systems at Vienna Airport (VIE).
Following a competitive international tendering process, the company chose ADB Safegate’s sophisticated OneControl integrated platform, a cutting-edge tower suite designed to modernise all controller working positions in the Vienna Airport ATC Tower. The advanced system, already in use at major international hubs like Hamburg, is set for commissioning by the end of 2028.
OneControl’s key feature is its ability to unify disparate systems. Traditionally, air traffic controllers work across numerous independent displays for functions like surveillance and flight planning. The new platform integrates all safety-critical information into a single, intuitive interface, providing controllers with immediate and complete situational awareness of aircraft and vehicle movements on the apron, aerodrome, and in the air. This consolidation facilitates faster, more accurate decision-making and is expected to enhance overall safety, streamline operations, and support more efficient, sustainable air traffic management.
Philipp Piber, Managing Director of Austro Control, highlighted the strategic importance of the upgrade, stating:
With OneControl, we are relying on state-of-the-art technology and maximum operational reliability. The system will provide our air traffic controllers with optimal support in the safe and efficient handling of air traffic.
The system also includes features such as advanced conflict detection and automated workflows aimed at reducing controller workload and helping the airport to optimise its airside efficiency.
Vienna Airport handled over 31 million passengers in 2024, its highest numbers since 2019. ATC investment will help make air traffic management at Austria’s aviation hub more streamlined and effective.
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by Elsie Clark | Nov 20, 2025 | Avionics, Connectivity
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) are calling for safeguards around the deployment of 5G/6G to protect avionics systems and radio altimeters.
IATA has presented a paper at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) WP5B Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland that outlines priority areas for protection. Radio altimeters, which need spectrum availability, must be taken into consideration in 5G planning to ensure aircraft and crew operate at optimum situational awareness.
Guiding the ITU’s studies will inform the output of the World Radiocommunications Conference 2027 (WRC-27), which will determine the technical conditions for 5G and 6G deployment.
Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security, said:
The benefits of 5G and 6G can never come at the cost of aviation safety. Spectrum decisions must be based on real-world aircraft operations, not idealized telecommunications industry modelling. That means ensuring ITU studies fully reflect the most demanding conditions pilots face. With input from aviation users, WRC-27 must deliver clear global rules to ensure the safe coexistence of radio altimeters and other safety-critical avionic systems with next-generation telecom networks across all phases of flight
In many countries, telecommunications providers have voluntarily implemented measures to avoid interference with o the Radio Altimeter (RAD ALT) allocation (4.2–4.4 GHz). However, in countries such as Canada, these temporary measures are about to expire, potentially leaving aviation communications vulnerable.
Careen added:
Current 5G mitigations were never designed as a long-term solution and several will expire within months. At the same time, more resilient radio altimeters will not reach airlines until the next decade. That leaves a significant mitigation gap. With new spectrum auctions underway and protections being lifted in key markets, regulators must not assume safety will take care of itself. The industry needs clear, consistent safeguards to bridge the period before new altimeters are available.
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by Elsie Clark | Nov 19, 2025 | Connectivity, Innovation
Airbus and Telefónica won Collaboration of the Year at our Aerospace Tech Review Awards in April 2025 for their innovations in 5G connectivity. Working with the Spanish Air and Space Force, the project connected aircraft with servers on the ground to transmit medical data more effectively.
To get the lowdown on the collaboration, Aerospace Tech Review caught up with Carlos Gómez, Research and Technology Project Leader for Airbus Defence and Space. He explained how improving 5G connectivity was essential for the Spanish Air and Space Force to provide more effective communications.
5G brings three major advantages: ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and the ability to connect thousands of devices simultaneously. This allows information to be exchanged across different domains — land, sea, air, and space — and enables more co-ordinated and informed decision-making.
Airbus and Telefónica each brough different strengths to the project: Airbus’s contributed engineering expertise for the installation of comms equipment, while Telefónica provided the necessary 5G infrastructure. In tests, the system worked successfully to transmit medical data, offering potential lifelines of support in an emergency scenario.
Using medical sensors on the aircraft, we could send information from the patient to a hospital, where the doctor could see the rate of the patient in real time. We also performed a video conference test between the aircraft and a military base.
The future of connectivity
With further investment taking place to make the solution even more advanced, the project is set to evolve and explore 5G use in applications beyond telemedicine. Gómez sees 6G as the next big transformation that Airbus has its eye on for future connectivity.
6G will bring new dimensions like integrated sensing, communication, AI, even integration with terrestrial aerospace systems. This will allow near real-time situational awareness, autonomous decision-making, and resilient communication even in the most challenging environments.
The collaboration stands as testament to what can be achieved when the aerospace industry combines its strengths to deliver effective solutions. Gómez concludes:
For us, this Aerospace Tech Review Award is more than just recognition. It’s a reminder of what is possible when passionate and professional people come together. It gives us more motivation to keep innovating.
🎥 Watch the full interview to hear the full story behind Airbus and Telefónica’s award-winning collaboration.
Questions asked include:
- How did you go about developing your 5G solution? How did Telefonica and Airbus combine their strengths?
- What lessons did both Telefonica and Airbus learn from working together?
- What results did you achieve? What successes did you see in testing and application?
- Will your 5G solution be expanded for use in other applications/used by other countries? How would you like to improve it in the future?
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