The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) has digitalised its manual air traffic control system to provide more expedited and optimised air navigation service for the passengers.
At the inauguration of this latest Digital Air Traffic Management System, yesterday (21), the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva said: “The financial investment made by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd to establish this system amounts to approximately Rs. 1.2 billion where the Main Air Traffic Control Tower and the RADA Operations Centre begun operations digitally.”
Previously, the air traffic controllers had manually recorded information about the aircrafts that were arriving and departing which was coordinated between the RADA Centre and the Air Traffic Control Tower.
Therefore, the introduction of the Air Traffic Management System is expected to make it easier for relevant nodes to get real time critical information.
Moreover, this innovation is expected to enhance and accelerate all air navigation services within Sri Lankan airspace, allowing for an increased volume of aircraft to be accommodated, the Minister said.
The new system out performs its predecessor in terms of technological capabilities. While the previous system could only measure an aircraft's cruising altitude, position, and airspeed, the latest system at the airport can acquire comprehensive data directly from the aircraft cockpit. This improvement results in a 100% increase in data accuracy regarding aircraft safety, de Silva explained.
Moreover, on 27 August 2023, a high-tech VHF Air-Ground Communication System was installed at the BIA at Katunayake by Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Siripala de Silva.
This high-tech system has been integrated in place of the 20-year-old air-ground communication system where Air traffic controllers can now seamlessly communicate with aircraft at any time without contacting a transmission / reception centre.
“These developments are essential parts of the continuous modernisation process that the airport is undergoing to improve Air Traffic Control operations,” the Minister noted.