Leeds Bradford Airport Boosts Air Traffic Capacity with ADB Safegate System
Leeds Bradford Airport, which serves 3.5 million passengers per year, has upgraded its Air Traffic Control systems to support its ambitious draft Masterplan proposals to deliver 7.1 million passengers annually by 2030.
ADB Safegate has installed its AirMax Air Situation Display System for tower and approach operations to help the airport manage the increased capacity safely and efficiently.
John Parkin, chief executive at Leeds Bradford Airport, said, “This project indicates our drive to continually invest in Leeds Bradford Airport, enabling us to provide the very best services for passengers travelling through Yorkshire’s gateway airport. This investment will help us to support increased capacity as part of our draft Masterplan proposals to deliver 7.1 million passengers a year by 2030.”
“Our ambition is to provide even more choice to our customers looking to travel across the world from their doorstep. I’d like to thank all of the operations team members for maintaining exceptional service during the one-year upgrade, which has all taken place around everyday activity in Air Traffic Control services,” continued Parkin.
ADB Safegate has installed and integrated its AirMax Air Situation Display System for tower and approach with existing equipment. AirMax interfaces with radar systems and displays consolidated surveillance information of air traffic at the tower and approach control units.
Using the system’s intuitive interface, air traffic controllers can determine the aircraft’s location mid-air, as well as the location of ground traffic, to support safe and efficient departure and approach traffic flow. The safety net modules, installed atop the radar display, detect potential incidents and help air traffic controllers to ensure aircraft avoid conflicts and meet flight level restrictions.
Noting these improvements, Alan Siddoway, Head of Air Traffic Control Services added, “Safety is at the forefront of all of our activity and this work provides even more safety enhancements including conflict alert and modes at Leeds Bradford Airport.”
This is ADB Safegate’s second key airport project in the UK since the East Midlands Airport went live in 2015. The company is also involved in projects at Prestwick and Birmingham that are currently underway.
“This major, one-year ATC upgrade at Leeds Bradford Airport is part of an ambitious capacity expansion, and involved replacing an older system as well as integrating with existing equipment, and presented high levels of complexity. We handled this effectively to ensure a smooth and painless migration to the new system,” said Christian Onselaere, CEO, ADB Safegate.
