There’s something romantic about the old tower. Glass walls, the hum of radio transmissions, a human gaze sweeping the airfield. A quiet but intense choreography plays out below, etched in decades of manual rhythms and muscle memory.
But romance, as with most things, meets its match. Or in this case, meets technology.
This month on Altitude, we stood at the crossroads of the old and the new, guided by three people who are shaping aviation’s digital journey: Marco Rueckert, CTO of Searidge Technologies; Michelle Ho, former Manager of Airfield Digital Transformation at Hong Kong International Airport; and Andy Taylor, Chief Solutions Officer at NATS. Together with our host, Russell Porter, they laid out a compelling vision of what happens when we rewire the airport for the 21st century.
Airports as Ecosystems, Not Silos
“What are we actually trying to achieve?” It’s a deceptively simple question, but as Marco Rueckert explains, digital transformation is nothing without purpose. In a world of siloed data, Rueckert sees transformation as something undertaken not for the sake of it, but as a vital operational convergence. A means for airports, airlines, and air traffic control to talk, really talk, via shared platforms and mutual data ownership.
Hong Kong, as Michelle Ho reveals, is the poster child for this kind of joined-up thinking. Their Integrated Airport Centre (IAC) isn’t just an office; it’s a mission control room. Airlines, maintenance teams, apron staff, and even border control share one roof and one operational truth. “We make decisions and allocate resources together,” Michelle says. “It’s a handshake in real-time.”
Augmentation, Not Replacement
In the UK, airports like Farnborough and Manchester are rolling out hybrid digital towers — physical towers augmented with panoramic digital displays and data-driven feeds. These aren’t replacements. They’re enhancements.
“You’re still in your tower cab,” Andy Taylor explains, “but now, every blind spot is filled in. That aircraft you couldn’t quite see behind a hangar? It’s on screen, in 4K. You don’t move seats. The airport moves for you.”
That’s the heart of the hybrid approach. Flexibility. Continuity. And crucially, resilience. Whether it’s a burst pipe, dense fog, or the dreaded cloud ceiling at Heathrow, digital augmentation ensures that operations don’t stall when visibility falls.
Much of the conversation boils down to how we can make operations less reactive and more proactive. By syncing apron, ATC, and airline data, it’s possible to make smarter choices — reassign a gate in advance, delay pushback if refuelling’s behind, or reroute a taxi path before congestion builds. At Heathrow, where NATS and Searidge are testing AI-driven predictions, the focus isn’t on flashy breakthroughs but on “the boring wins”—the kind that shave seconds off turnarounds and keep schedules intact. In an industry where disruption is measured in millions per hour, those seconds matter.
Michelle Ho saw it all from the inside. She was there as Hong Kong’s Integrated Airport Centre grew from a 2006-era control room into what it is now: a shared, single-moment-of-truth platform. There’s a moment she describes: an inbound flight is delayed. Another needs a stand. Previously, someone radios someone. A delay spirals.
Now? The whole room sees it, plans for it, and executes it together. “Normal days, it’s efficient,” Michelle says. “On bad days, it’s resilient.”
The point isn’t that it’s seamless. It’s that it’s synchronised. It’s the same with data. As Rueckert insists, ownership matters. “You can’t drive change if your data is locked away in proprietary systems.” That’s why Searidge focuses on open platforms and modular integration. Buy what you need, plug into what you have, and keep your options open.
No More Blind Spots
Perhaps the most telling detail is what hasn’t changed: the people. Controllers still control. Dispatchers still dispatch. Airport digital transformation isn’t about replacing judgment but refining it. Giving seasoned professionals the tools to match their expertise. As Andy puts it: “This isn’t the future. It’s just the better way to do what we’ve always done.”
Watch the full episode now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
