CAAP to adopt new air traffic management system

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has announced it would adopt a next-generation satellite-based air traffic control system which it said would put the country “at par with the rest of the world.”

In an advisory, CAAP said President Rodrigo Duterte will lead the turnover of the new Communications, Navigation, Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) Systems at its central office compound in MIA Road, Pasay City on Tuesday.

The CAAP said the new CNS/ATM system was a P10.8-billion project financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It was completed in October 2017 and would be fully operational before the end of 2018, it added.

The turnover would be attended by Tugade, CAAP Director General Jim Sydiongco and Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda, the CAAP said.

According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the CNS/ATM technology enhances safety, reliability, and efficiency of air traffic service in the Philippine airspace.

“With the use of CNS/ATM systems, air travel is expected to be more definite, aircraft identification to be more established, and safety of security of passengers are guaranteed,” the DOTr said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Apart from these, the system also brings with it better air traffic flow and space management, which optimizes airport capacity and efficient use of airspace that will in turn minimize delays by helping aircraft operators meet their departure and arrival schedules,” it said.

With the new CNS/ATM systems, 10 additional radars would be deployed in Aparri, Laoag, Cebu-Mt. Majic, Quezon-Palawan, Zamboanga, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, Mactan, Bacolod, Kalibo and Davao, the CAAP said.

The aviation authority said it previously used only three radars stationed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, at Clark, Pampanga and in Tagaytay to manage the Philippines’ air traffic.

“As a result, it could only cover 30 percent of Philippine air space. When President Rodrigo Duterte came into office, DOTr Secretary (Arthur) Tugade focused on expediting the project after it was delayed for two years,” CAAP said in a statement.

With the new radars, the CAAP said it would be able to cover 100% of Philippine air space.

“The new CNS/ATM Systems project established an aviation infrastructure to more than 40 airports, air navigation facilities, and air traffic control facilities nationwide, from Basco, Batanes in the North to Jolo in the South,” the CAAP said.