ERA has completed the third extension of its surface guidance system at Copenhagen Airport

Pardubice, October 1st, 2014,  NAVIAIR, the Danish Air Navigation Service Provider, has repeatedly placed its trust in the ERA multilateration systems. ERA has recently completed the third extension of its surface guidance system at the Copenhagen Airport Kastrup. Currently 27 ERA multi-sensor surveillance ground-based stations and 238 pieces of SQUID vehicle tracking units are in operation there to ensure the safety of the busiest airport in Scandinavia.

Ten years ago, Copenhagen airport awarded the programme for safety to HITT as the prime contractor for the A-SMGCS integrating MSS with the ERA network of sensors and SQUID by ERA vehicle tracking units after an international tender. Since this time, the system has undergone three rounds of extension by ERA single-handedly (with the last one completed in 2014) and has been in successful operations ever since, as illustrated by the Danish Civil Aviation Authority’s granting of authorization to the airport to use the A-SMGCS for air traffic control purposes.

NAVIAIR, the Danish Air Navigation Service Provider, required improved airport surface surveillance in order to maintain a high level of safety for airport operations during adverse weather conditions and to reduce the risk of runway incursion. NAVIAIR also required a single-view of aircraft and vehicle movements over the complete surface coverage.

To meet the challenge and solve NAVIAIR’s problems, HITT developed and delivered an A-SMGCS system compliant with EUROCONTROL and ICAO requirements. HITT’s solution was comprised of two Terma X-band Scanter Surface Movement Radars (SMR), an ERA MLAT system, and an HITT A-SMGCS processing and display system.

HITT’s A-SMGCS solution fused the highly accurate positional data from ERA’s ground-based stations (currently 27 stations) and vehicle tracking units (238 pieces in operation at present) with radar data in one consistent traffic presentation.

On Copenhagen Airport

Copenhagen Airport (official named CA Kastrup – Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup in Danish) is one of Europe’s largest airports and a major centre for airport traffic in Scandinavia and northern Europe. The airport is located on the island of Amager, only 8 kilometres south of the Copenhagen city centre, and 24 kilometres west of the Malmö city centre on the other side of the Øresund Bridge. Copenhagen Airport handles 60 scheduled airlines and serves more than 62,000 passengers per day. 23.3 million passengers passed through the facility in 2012 making it the busiest airport in the Nordic countries. It is also one of the oldest international airports in Europe. With a European and global network of direct flight connections, Copenhagen’s operations and expansion are critical to supporting the growth of not only Denmark but European and global industry.