Business & Money | Tuesday 27 January, 2015 2:42 pm |

Bayanat Airports Engineering & Supplies LLC, the leading airport solutions provider in the Middle East, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, has successfully commissioned and put in operation three WindTracer systems. Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS) is analyzing wake data from WindTracers to ensure that concepts to reduce aircraft separations and increase airport efficiency can be implemented while maintaining safety at Dubai International Airport.

WindTracer is a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) system that measures the strength and behavior of wake vortices caused by arriving aircraft. The implementation of Lockheed Martin’s LIDAR systems will help DANS meet future aircraft traffic demands at Dubai International Airport, which has seen a significant increase in air traffic volume. The first two WindTracers were installed in 2013, and the contract originally awarded by Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects Corporation was extended to include a third system to collect wake information more quickly.

“We are pleased that all three LIDARs are now fully operational and are being used by DANS to address capacity and safety improvements,” said Ibrahim Ahli, senior vice president of Dubai Air Navigation Services. “With the rise of demand for air travel and the forecasted future growth, we are continuously striving to implement innovative solutions to keep our skies safe and our operations efficient.”

WindTracer wake measurements will be used for proving new concepts to reduce aircraft separations during arrivals, thereby increasing airport throughput. WindTracer data helps increase airport capacity while allowing the highest standards of air traffic safety.

Dr. Michael Margulis, Director of WindTracer Programs at Lockheed Martin, said: “WindTracer has been a major enabler for similar wake mitigation efforts in the U.S. and Europe, increasing aircraft throughput at many airports by up to 30 percent. That boost in efficiency not only enables more aircraft arrivals and departures, it also eliminates the need to build additional runways to accommodate heavy traffic volume.”

Dubai International, ranked busiest airport in terms of international passengers, is connected to over 260 destinations across six continents through more than 140 scheduled airlines. Work is in progress on a number of projects at Dubai International as part of the US$7.8b strategic plan 2020, which seeks to expand the airport’s capacity to 100 million by 2020. These projects include Concourse A – the world’s first facility purpose built for the A380 that opened in 2013, and a new concourse – Concourse D – scheduled for opening later this year, among others.