More space, better management and less stress

By Terma A/S

Even in times of a temporary downturn in the global aviation industry, the Middle East / Gulf region’s airports grow in scale and number, and airlines in the region account for half the world’s value of aircraft orders. This obviously puts great strains on the entire aviation infrastructure.

Seen from the perspective of the region’s air traffic management, the main challenges derive from a shortage of controllers, late introduction of modern ATC procedures and separation standards, and inadequate cooperation between civil and military operators. All contributing to airspace congestion, aircraft holdings, airport delays, and a stressful working environment for ATC staff.

To face these challenges, Terma plays a key role with open, modular, scaleable and flexible ATM solutions. Through long-term customer and user relationships, Terma is familiar with the work environment and operations of the end-users and the needs of ATC controllers and civil aviation authorities.

Experience proves that Terma’s ATM solutions enhance and sustain operational quality, easing the stress on ATC controllers, while also proving cost-efficient in operations and financially viable.

DCL: Saving precious time
The future belongs to DCL, Departure Clearance via datalink for requesting and delivering departure information and clearance complying with ICAO’s recommendations. The pilot of the aircraft at the gate sends the clearance request and receives the clearance information via ACARS, with the option to print out the message in the cockpit.

In operational service at major international airports in Europe and Asia, Terma’s DCL solutions have already documented their efficiency and benefits by increasing operational efficiency, reducing flight delays, boosting airport regularity, and enhancing safety.

Reducing Workloads
Traditional departure clearance procedures rely on radio-transmitted voice communication, comprising several read and read-back transmissions between tower and aircraft to verify perception of the data, and eventual controller confirmation of the message. The process may be further complicated by radio congestion jamming VHF communication.

With datalink, the pilot may enter his departure clearance request from 25 minutes prior to departure on Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) with call sign, gate position, destination, and ATIS letter. In response, the system automatically verifies the data for compliance between the flight plan and the data received from the aircraft.

Once this has been established, an automated clearance message including all essential information such as Standard Instrument Departure (SID) and current ATIS letter is generated and transmitted to the cockpit. The pilot can read this information on his ACARS screen or print it out for reference. This entire process, including pilot’s read-back and controller’s confirmation requires no manual interference once the data match. In case of any discrepancy, the ATC controller will automatically be alerted to communicate with the aircraft via VHF.

In operational life, the benefits from datalink-based procedures are obvious: “The system greatly reduces stress among controllers, and generates a situational overview which is in itself a major asset”, says Søren Beck, Air Traffic Controller at Naviair, and former Head of Tower Operations, at Copenhagen Airport.

And his words do not stand alone: “With the implementation of clearance datalink service, the provision of departure clearance information in respect of the departure routes, altitude restrictions, and cruising levels etc., which used to be transmitted through radio communication, can now be transmitted via datalink for display or print-out in the cockpit to reduce pilots’ workload”, said Mr Albert Lam, Director-General of Hong Kong Civil Aviation, at the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong International Airport.

Pilots Agree: Huge Benefits
A survey by Terma proves that airline pilots share a convincingly positive assessment of datalink-based systems and procedures.

98 percent of the respondents confirmed that they use the system (the remaining two percent of the pilots fly aircraft that are not equipped to this standard). 70 percent of the respondents reported time savings of at least one minute per departure, compared to manual procedures, while the remaining 30 percent noted savings in the range between one half and one minute. Not surprisingly, all respondents agreed that datalink-based services are far more efficient and easy to use. And considering the ever-increasing congestion on the radio communication, 98 percent of the respondents found datalink services “easy to read”.

No similar survey among ATC controllers exists, but there is every reason to expect similar findings. The situational overview of the ATC staff is enhanced by the automated process – and the civil aviation authorities will reap significant savings in man-hours to handle the traffic, facilitating handling of increasing traffic volumes with the existing work force.

“We anticipate a decrease in controller workload by one or two man-labour years, which can reduce cost or make it possible to handle more traffic without additional controllers”, says Mr Mosbakk, Project Manager of the DCL project, delivered by Terma at Oslo Airport AS.

Another major international airport, experienced in the use of DCL, Copenhagen Airport reports the average saving of time per aircraft departure clearance to be some 30 seconds, compared to traditional radio procedures.

Terma’s solutions are financially attractive, too: the Net Present Value is positive and significantly offsets the costs, offering prospects of an early recovery of investments. Whether acquired through an outright purchase or under an operational lease agreement, the financial viability remains impressive. Taken as an upfront purchase, the payback period is calculated to be three years. While as an operational lease arrangement the implementation pays back from the first year already!

To this could be added a vast array of secondary benefits, including operational savings by other parties like airlines operating at the airports. Or the positive impact on an airport’s competitiveness as just one significant parameter in an airline’s choice of alternatives.

ATC*ISS: Clearing the Desk
With ATC*ISS, Terma provides a tool for cleaning up the controller workplace by removing all paper notes, dials and displays, while integrating information on a single screen providing full situational awareness.

ATC*ISS integrates validated information from a wide selection of sources to provide maximum support for the air traffic controller’s overview and decision-making power. With all pertinent data within immediate reach, presented in figures or graphics, the controller will greatly minimize time consumed by retrieving information, directing instead his full attention towards controlling all flights within his segment, and servicing aircraft on the approach, en-route, or on the ground.

The ATC*ISS system comes with a fully customizable user interface. Information placeholders for dynamic information like RVR sensors, local meteorological data and AFTN sourced data can be freely placed on display pages. The information placeholders are dynamically and automatically filled with the verified and validated data when viewed by the users. The freedom in the design of the display pages allows for the re-creation or mimic of familiar analogue wind-dials and even the user interfaces of legacy systems – requiring little or no training and easing stress on controllers during introduction of ATC*ISS.

Fully Scaleable
The latest version of ATC*ISS is now in operational use at several NATS tower installations in the London area, among these the new tower at Heathrow International airport. The touch-screen ATC*ISS system has replaced an earlier, much simpler information system and integrated additional new information sources. Information and search results are almost real-time, an essential asset at the world’s busiest international airport.

ATC*ISS has also been selected for implementation at prestigious airports including the New Doha International Airport and the expansion of the Abu Dhabi international Airport.

The response is highly encouraging: The upgrade of the Abu Dhabi International Airport will help us take a further step in our quest to become world class gateway airport. This includes installation of advanced ATM systems for world leading air traffic control. Terma's Information Support System ATC*ISS is a key ATM system providing our controllers with easy access to always up-to-date Aeronautical and Operational information enhancing the safety and efficiency", says Mr. Talal Al Jouhi, Systems Design Manager, Abu Dhabi International Airport.

In Denmark, ATC*ISS has been installed in the new Copenhagen Airport tower and centre installation. The Danish solution supports a complete national architecture, where local airport installations are managed centrally from the Copenhagen site. The system allows for page updates and system control to be performed centrally, while select information can be shared between the sites. The national architecture installation illustrates the ATC*ISS system’s ability to scale from small single tower installations to centres and national infrastructure.

ATC*ISS’ open modular system architecture is easily adaptable and interfaces with any external system. Thus, ATC*ISS supports any kind of data from sources including e.g. AFTN messages, sensor data, status data, layered data maps, video, and PDF documents. By integrating all available data required by the ATC controller onto one screen, ATC*ISS greatly reduces the need for equipment within the tower environment, also contributing to a calm and controlled atmosphere, and ensuring that only the latest valid data is at all times presented to the controller.
 
The Road Ahead
The critical issue for the Middle East/Gulf Region is to rationalize and optimize its airspace organisation, with emphasis on the Single Sky concept, civil/military use, and other pertinent topics.

This will require efficient and flexible solutions, such as already implemented by Terma in Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Iraq.