Latest ATM technology to be in focus at Airport Show-2013

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The latest ATM solutions and systems will be on display at the Airport Show in Dubai from May 6 to 8, said a statement. The 13th Airport Show will feature exhibitors specialising in ATC Towers, Mobile Control Towers, Communications, Data Processing Systems, Consoles, Enclosures, Landing Systems, Navigational Aids and Fleet Management. The Airport Show is the premier airport event for the Middle East, North Africa and Indian subcontinent region. Co-located with the 'Global Airport Leaders' Forum', an industry meeting to generate solutions for airport leaders from around the world to overcome their common challenges and 'Airport Passenger Experience', a unique platform visualizing the future of airport terminals and technologies, Airport Show is the largest gathering of airport decision makers, experts and suppliers in the region. The multi-billion dollar programmes for the expansion and development of airports in the six GCC states have put the complexities of the 'Crowded Skies' and challenges of Air Traffic Management (ATM) under the global spotlight. The Middle East airlines are expected to experience the highest growth in passenger traffic at 5.8 per cent per annum through to the year 2025, compared to the world average of 4.6 per cent. The total aircraft movements to/from and within the Middle East region are estimated to increase to 2,346,000 in 2025 at an average annual growth rate of 7.6 per cent. While aircraft movements in the UAE witnessed 6.7 per cent growth in 2012, there has been a 16.2 per cent growth in the fleet of UAE-registered airlines/operators in the past 10 years. According to industry experts, over 50 per cent of Middle East's airline traffic and over 65 per cent of business aviation traffic is concentrated in the GCC region. The General Civil Aviation Authority's (GCAA) strategic plan notes that increasing demand for air travel will continue to challenge the efficiencies of the air traffic management system. While the hub-and-spoke system will remain largely the same as today for major airline operations, the demand for more point-to-point service will create new markets and spur increases in low-cost carriers, air taxi operations, and on-demand services. Additionally, the emergence of VLJ's (Very Large Jets) is expected to create new markets in the general and business aviation sectors for personal, air taxi, and point-to-point passenger operations. Many airports will thus experience significant increases in unscheduled traffic, while many airports that support scheduled air carrier traffic are forecast to grow and experience congestion or delays, if efforts to increase their capacity fall short. As a result, additional airspace flexibility will be necessary to accommodate not only the increasing growth, but also the increasing air traffic complexity. Nearly 50 per cent of the GCC airspace has some form of restriction, much of it military, denying commercial aircraft the use of the most efficient flight corridors, creating unnecessary added costs for airlines. Aircraft have to follow a pre-determined route regardless of wind conditions, leading to unnecessary fuel consumption, excess carbon emissions, longer flight times, increased noise impact, flight delays and air traffic congestion. More than US$700 million is estimated to be the volume of investments in regional ATM upgrades, while equally significant investments in this segment are in the pipeline. GCAA and Airbus ProSky have recently signed an agreement for the UAE Airspace Enhancement programme, beginning this year. The UAE Flight Information Region (FIR) witnessed a total of 741,450 aircraft movements in 2012.