Common ground

"Airports want existing systems to interface with new ones and this can be costly," Bourjeily admits. "Airports need to look at the specification thoroughly and plan what they need before contacting the supplier.

Suppliers and airports will work better if airports make it clear to the supplier their requirements from day one - this will also save a lot of money."

Advanced communication solutions may be costly to implement initially but as Bourjeily states, new technology is providing a long-term means of contact that goes far beyond the confines of an airport terminal. "Internet based applications can help in communicating with remote locations outside of the airport's grounds such as hotels and offices but it is satellite technology that is providing the most benefits, particularly with air traffic control."

Five to six years ago air traffic control staff could only talk to aircraft pilots via voice. Now, thanks to advancements in Voice Data Link (VDL), the controller can send data using satellite technology. "In the aircraft there is a transponder and at any time this can broadcast all the information it is collecting," Bourjeily explains. "The transponder gets its information from a satellite and sends it to the controller. Previously this was done through the ground radar, which was limited in the type of information it could send."

Satellite technology has also provided advancements in apron management as the VDL's capabilities extend to image processing. "The tower controller can direct the aircraft on the apron via images as well as data and voice. It is like a vehicle tracking system but very advanced."

Another new field in satellite is satellite landing systems (SLS), which currently are only deployed in Norway. Satellite landing systems go beyond instrument landing systems (ILS) as the satellite technology provides coordinates making it easier to navigate mountainous areas which surround the airport in Norway. As Bourjeily identifies, places such as Fujairah would benefit greatly from this technology.

Fujairah International Airport is surrounded by mountains and for airlines using an airport in this type of environment satellite technology makes landings more efficient and accurate. It is only a matter of time before more and more applications will begin using this system to improve safety."

Bourjeily believes that IP connected devices and satellite technology are improving the facilitation of passengers as well as improving airport efficiency overall. "The information retrieved can be collected and provided quickly and the whole airport becomes unified. As with all airport developments time constraints are a big issue but United Arab Emirate airports are a model for the region and will lead the way in the Middle East, and possibly the world, when using this technology to its full potential."

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