Indra has finished commissioning its iCAS air traffic management system at DFS’s Munich control centre in Germany.
The German air navigation service provider’s centre in Munich manages flights in airspace over central southern Germany. It also coordinates arrivals and departures at the airports in Munich, Memmingen, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Erfurt and Dresden.
Last year the Munich control centre handled about 860,000 aircraft movements with around 350 air traffic controllers.
The Munich Phase-II iCAS system is the first one based entirely on 4D trajectories to be put into operation in a complex terminal maneuvering area (TMA). The flight path management system can accurately calculate the future position of each flight over time and facilitate optimal planning and advanced and innovative management of conflicts, so that these may be minimized, detected and resolved at an early stage.
This feature, combined with highly advanced control procedures, considerably increases the levels of efficiency, capacity and safety. The system’s flexibility can also contribute to optimizing performance, as it permits more direct flights and cuts delays while it benefits the environment by reducing CO2 emissions and noise pollution.
Dirk Mahns, chief operating officer at DFS said, “iCAS is our answer to the digital European sky.
“It enhances the technical interplay between European air navigation service providers. It provides precise flight path calculations, a modern human-machine interface, and additional functions. This facilitates planning and allows our air traffic controllers to perform forward-looking air traffic management.”
Javier Ruano, managing director of Indra’s ATM business said that “the new system in Munich provides an excellent technological basis for more effective and efficient traffic management systems and air navigation services in Europe, assets that are key to overcoming the challenges of a complex and saturated airspace”.