Indra and Hungarocontrol optimize airport ground operations with pioneering solution

Attendants from 13 countries saw presentations and live demonstrations of pioneering solutions to guide and control aircraft ground movements (A-SMGCS), as Indra and HungaroControl hosted an Open Day following validation of the SESAR 2020 Integrated Airport Operations (PJ28) project on April. The ambition of the project is to optimize ground operations by improving efficiency and capacity, enhancing safety, and reducing CO² emissions.

During the project, a range of new solutions has been developed and implemented in the selected industrial platform, InNOVA Ground from Indra. To increase safety, the system compares aircraft movements against given clearances. Conformance monitoring alerts (CMAC) will notify the air traffic controller in case of non-compliance. The controller will also be alerted of potentially conflicting clearances (CATC). Efficiency and capacity challenges are addressed in several ways. The system automatically calculates the optimal time of departure of each aircraft to improve traffic flow at the airport. Further, surface movement planning and routing is also automated and integrated into the A-SMGCS, allowing air traffic control to focus on more demanding tasks.

“We have tested out the new solution from Indra, and we like what we see. Integrating more automatic alerts and functionality into the A-SMGCS helps air traffic controllers work more efficiently and allows more time to react in case of non-conformance or conflicting clearances”, comments Anna Petrovai, Head of Aerodrome Control Unit at HungaroControl.

“Making airport operations more secure, efficient and environmentally friendly are the main challenges of our industry, and it is precisely what we have addressed in this project. We are very pleased to see so much interest in the solution, and grateful to HungaroControl for partnering with us to run live demonstrations at their facilities”, comments Terje Dalen, Product Manager at Indra.

The validation has proven that the new functionality is ready to be deployed operationally as part of Indra’s Advanced-Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS); InNOVA Ground.