Did you know 14 Norwegian airports are controlled from a single digital tower centre in Bodø?

At a growing number of small Norwegian airports, the air traffic controllers are not in a tower beside the runway. Avinor, the state airport operator, manages traffic at 14 airports in operational service from its Digital Towers Centre in Bodø, which opened in May 2022 and which Avinor describes as the world's largest centre for digital towers.

The system relies on cameras, microphones and other equipment at each airport, which give controllers extremely detailed information about the weather and activities at the airport at all times. Røst was the first: digital tower service began there on 19 October 2019. The first phase covers Røst, Vardø, Hasvik, Berlevåg, Røros, Mehamn, Rørvik, Namsos, Svolvær, Sogndal, Førde, Molde, Leknes and Sandnessjøen.

A second phase is planned for Mo i Rana, Båtsfjord, Vadsø, Sandane, Sørkjosen, Mosjøen, Ørsta-Volda and the new Bodø airport. Avinor also describes a multi-airport trial approved in 2026 for four airport pairs, including Rørvik–Namsos and Vardø–Berlevåg, and says that in future one person could handle traffic at several airports from the same position.

Avinor states that the solution must be as safe as, or even safer than, current towers, and that the Civil Aviation Authority must accept it before implementation.

For passengers nothing changes at check-in or boarding. Anyone flying to these coastal and northern airports should simply follow their airline's flight information, as at any other airport.