Common ground

Airport communication systems have advanced in the last five years and airport operators are looking to suppliers to make system migration a smoother process.

Audio, visual, mobile, satellite, digital, common networks, IP technology... Airport communication equipment takes many forms and ensuring the integration of various technologies in environments where safety and security are the main drivers is imperative.

Without communication in airports passenger services would grind to a halt, literally. Navigation and surveillance would go untracked; flight information would not be shared; runway systems would not be managed; ground movement would become static. The list goes on.

Bayanat Airports Engineering & Supplies specialises in integrating airport systems in some of the region's major airports. Alain Bourjeily, general manager for Bayanat Airports understands the importance for systems to communicate to each other, but recognises that this has taken some time to evolve. "New airports are using standard technology but demanding an advanced infrastructure," Bourjeily explains.

"If you want to look at how communication systems are evolving then compare them to a time when every system had its own legacy network. It was difficult for systems to communicate to each other and this was where the problems lay. In the past each system had its own network and exchange of data was very difficult. That introduced delays and reduced the overall efficiency of an airport."

At Abu Dhabi International Airport, Bayanat is furnishing all the air traffic control and communications systems for the emergency control tower and is implementing the airport communication systems for the new Terminal 3 (T3), which will be leased to Etihad Airways.

Flight information display screens, departure control systems and baggage reconciliation technology are all required and as Bourjeily admits, integrating the systems together has not been easy.

"At Abu Dhabi International Airport all the technologies were very old and we are still finding that we are working with old systems." Bourjeily explains that this is a common problem and projects at existing airports requiring updated communication systems can be complicated.

"It is not an easy task to implement new systems because airports cannot close. It requires a lot of planning as the old system has to be migrated to the new one while the airport is still operating. Our engineers also find that not all of the current systems will work with the latest IP technology.

"Nowadays the systems available offer a common network, which is IP-based and this ensures the flow of data. In a good airport this is how you have to do it. You need one database that stores all the parameters of information."

Operating communication systems from a common network makes exchanging information very easy. IP phones provide flight and access information and increase efficiency and flexibility while reducing costs.

But lack of planning is a major contributor to implementation problems and is also resulting in many airports paying out large and unnecessary sums of money updating current systems as new ones emerge.

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