Increased Safety Goes Hand in Hand with Higher Cost Efficiency: Single-Controller Operation Showcasing Its Advantages

While traffic levels are predicted to rise, nearly all European air navigation service providers suffer from staff shortages. In most cases, two air traffic controllers are deployed to control one airspace sector. Enabling the deployment of one controller per sector could be a solution to staff shortage problems. For this Single-Controller Operation (SCO) concept, a demonstrator with integrated support tools based on advanced information technology was developed. These partially automate some controller tasks to allow one controller to work off the same traffic amount as a controller team. The system was tested in a human-in-the-loop real-time simulation under varying traffic loads using a 2 × 2 within-subjects design. The variables assessed include separation minima infringements, exit flight level deviations, instantaneous self-assessment, voice communication, flight distance, and fuel burn. The results show no negative influence on safety, workload, situational awareness, operational efficiency, and environment, with 80% of maximum allowed declared capacity. Thus, SCO has the potential to mitigate staff shortages and raise cost efficiency by 40%. These results showcase the feasibility of the SCO concept under nominal conditions. Assessments with different traffic levels, non-nominal conditions, and an interdependent multi-sector SCO layout are recommended for further investigations.