Sweden’s Air Navigation Services tweeted: “Sweden first in the world with remotely operated air traffic management.”

The air traffic control tower in Sundsvall guided the plane’s takeoff and landing.

“Remote Tower Services is a development programme that we are very proud of,” Olle Sundin, LFV’s director-general, said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are the first operator in the world to receive operational approval and there is a lot of interest among our customers in Sweden and around the world.” 

Cameras and sensors collected real-time information at Ornskoldsvik Airport’s remote tower and transmitted the data to air traffic controllers in Sundsvall, according to LFV. 

 “Remote Tower Services involves cameras and sensors at the airport sending signals in real time to an air traffic control centre,” Swedish automobile company Saab, which helped develop the remote air control technology, said in a statement on Tuesday. “There, images and information of the traffic and the remote controlled airport are displayed on TV monitors. Thanks to this technology, air traffic can be controlled as it would from a traditional tower.”