New Kolkata airport ATC tower to be equipped with latest gadgets – Times of India

KOLKATA: The new technical building and air traffic control tower at Kolkata airport will be equipped with the latest navigation and surveillance equipment designed to ensure safe operations of millions of flights that will criss-cross the Kolkata air traffic region in the next 10 years. Sources said an array of equipment will be procured, including a new automation system, voice communication, very high frequency antenna, ground guidance and surveillance equipment for aircraft and other vehicles, and systems to broadcast meteorological data to aircraft. The overall cost of the equipment is pegged around Rs 350 crore-Rs 400 crore.
“The automation system currently in use was installed in 2013 – to track flights in real time using radars and ensure they negotiate the airspace safely – is nearing its 10-year life cycle. Latest automation systems have become more advanced with several new features incorporated. The new internet protocol-based voice communication system also has the latest features. The VHF antenna currently installed has one output. The new antenna to be procured will have three outputs with redundancy to minimise chances of failure,” an airport communications expert explained.
The airport has sought the latest Level IV Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) to provide routing, guidance and surveillance for the control of aircraft and vehicles within the airport operational area while ensuring safety. This is primarily to ensure that hundreds of planes, coaches, airport and airline vehicles, like luggage trolleys, catering trucks and other mobile ground equipment, do not crash into each other.
D-VOLMET, an equipment for transmission of weather information from the ground to pilots in the air, will also be procured. It obtains weather information automatically in textual format from various data sources and converts it to high-quality voice output that can be provided to aircraft in flight via HF or VHF radio every half hour.
Also on the list is the latest Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS), a continuous broadcast or recording of aeronautical information like current weather information, active runways, available approaches and other information required by pilots, like NOTAMs.
According to another source, the tender to appoint a vendor who will purchase and install these systems will be floated this month. The bidding process and finalising of the tender after technical qualification will take six months. Thereafter, procuring the equipment, tailoring them to the requirement of Kolkata airport and installing them will take another year.
“The systems should be up and running by 2023-end. The civil work of the new ATC tower is expected to be over by this year-end, following which, work will start on the interiors, including laying of electrical and communication cables. The integration of the systems will also happen simultaneously. In 2024, the new and the existing ATC units will start functioning in tandem. Once controllers are set on the new system, complete migration will happen. That should be sometime in the first half of 2024,” the official said.