Traffic management system for Dublin Airport

Citation

(2005), "Traffic management system for Dublin Airport", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 77 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2005.12777eab.011

Traffic management system for Dublin Airport

Traffic management system for Dublin Airport

Keywords: Air traffic control

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) recently announced that it had recorded a profit before tax of EUR9.6 million, up from EUR5.9 million the previous year. This increase was largely due to an increase in en route overflying traffic, an increase in high frequency (HF) communication services delivered on the North Atlantic, and the commissioning of its new air traffic management (ATM) system.

This announcement was made on the same day as the IAA's new ATM system and centre at Dublin Airport was officially launched by Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Mr Ivor Callely, TD.

The IAA is the semi state body which regulates Irish aviation safety standards and provides Air Traffic Control services in Irish controlled airspace. IAA revenue primarily comes from charging aircraft that pass through Irish controlled airspace.

IAA turnover increased in 2004 by 12.6 per cent to EUR124.5 million, up from EUR110.6 million in 2003. Almost 80 per cent of turnover is revenue from aircraft that did not land in Ireland, but used Irish airspace en route to other destinations. Overall, this traffic increased by 3.7 per cent to 262,860 movements in 2004.

IAA chairman, Mr. Donal Geaney, commented: “The Authority recorded a significant improvement in its financial performance during 2004. This is in no small part due to the dedication and professionalism of management and staff, in particular for their delivery of the ATM systems upgrade on time, to specification and within budget”.

The new ATM system, known as CAIRDE 2000, is part of the IAA's EUR115 million national programme to provide Ireland's controlled airspace with one of the most advanced computerised radar and flight planning management systems in Europe.

Key air traffic statistics for 2004 were as follows:

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  En route overflights (i.e. all aircraft using Irish controlled airspace whether landing in Ireland or en route elsewhere) rose by 3.7 per cent to 263,000 movements.

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  Terminal commercial traffic (i.e. traffic landing at the three State airports) fell by 0.9 per cent to 226,000 movements.

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  North Atlantic airspace communications traffic rose by 5.4 per cent to 351,000 movements. (The IAA radio station at Ballygirreen, Co. Clare provides the vital radio link between air traffic controllers and pilots over the eastern half of the North Atlantic.)

Speaking at the official launch of the new ATM system and centre at Dublin Airport, chief executive, Mr Eamonn Brennan, said: “This new ATM system has been operational for over a year in Shannon and since last May in Dublin. It can be expanded to meet the requirements for systems interoperability which are currently being developed by ^•EUROCONTROL and the European Union. With modern technology it is incumbent on us to provide safety, capacity, consistency and reliability in vital transport services. Our new system meets these exacting requirements”.

This new ATM system expands the capacity of the Irish air traffic control (ATC) system and enables Irish controllers to handle expected higher traffic volumes.

In January 2005, the IAA implemented the first phase in providing radar control to aircraft in a new area of airspace known as NOTA – Northern Oceanic Transition Area. With the addition of the NOTA airspace, Ireland now controls an airspace block of 450,000 square kilometres, at the interface between the European and North Atlantic airspace areas. With NOTA, Irish controlled airspace becomes a key strategic gateway for over 90 per cent of air traffic between Europe and North America.