CAAP upgrades air traffic system

Director General William Hotchkiss III. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has upgraded its 19-year-old air traffic management system, which is seen to improve air traffic control, especially during the rainy season.

The aviation authority on Tuesday unveiled the P159.9-million upgraded Eurocat air traffic management system which replaced the old outdated one which had been in place since 1996.

The system is a computerized air traffic control and management solution that controls en route, overflights, arriving and departing air traffic from as far as 250 nautical miles.

CAAP director general William Hotchkiss III said that before the upgrade, flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, particularly during rainy periods, are affected by outages resulting in flight cancellations or diversion.

He said the aging system had outlived its life span of 19 years and parts are already obsolete and unavailable for replacement.

Undertaken in partnership with Thales Australia and Pacific Hemisphere Development, the systems upgrade was inaugurated and blessed at the airways facilities complex at the CAAP central office in Pasay City.

Hotchkiss and deputy director general for operations Gen. Rodante Joya with Raymond Lions, branch manager of Thales Australia’s Philippine branch office, Roger Ferrari of Pacific Hemisphere Development and other officials attended the launch.

According to CAAP, the total cost of the project was pegged at P159.9 million.