The HISPAFRA project aims to implement the concept of free route airspace (FRA) within Spain. At the European level, the FRA initiative is promoted and coordinated by Eurocontrol, in accordance with the stipulations of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/116 of 1 February 2021. It is a nationwide project in which Ineco is supporting the ENAIRE Director of Operations and helping to coordinate all of the bodies involved, which include the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, the National Air Safety Agency, the Spanish Air Force and ENAIRE. 

Until now, airlines and airspace users have defined their flight plans using a network of waypoints and segments published in aeronautical charts. The pre-pandemic growth in air traffic across Europe has meant that this network of segments and flight paths has become more expansive and complex. In turn, this has made it possible to manage air traffic within the capacity of the network without impacting negatively on safety.

Free route airspace is a concept in which airspace users are able to draw up flight plans in line with their companies’ interests, and freely establish connections between waypoints within a particular volume of airspace without reference to the existing published routes. However, they must still adhere to certain rules with regard to connectivity between the waypoints in question. The concept can be compared to the experience of a driver at a junction with traffic lights and a junction with a roundabout: while the traffic lights oblige the driver to stop completely, at the roundabout the traffic flows more freely and the driver can choose where to exit, in accordance with certain pre-defined rules. Although the FRA concept does not imply the absence of rules, it does allow for greater dispersal of air traffic in comparison to structured airspace (thereby reducing “traffic jams”) and offers users greater flexibility when planning the optimum route between waypoints within the airspace. In turn, this enables them to plan flights that are more efficient, flexible and environmentally sustainable.

Entry, exit and intermediate points in free route airspace. MAP_ENAIRE

However, the increased flexibility in flight planning offered by the FRA concept results in greater dispersal of flight routes and increased uncertainty as to where conflicts that require controllers to separate the aircraft may occur. For this reason, and when dealing with complex airspaces, the FRA concept explored by the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) initiative recommends that  user defined segments should be based on published waypoints in high complexity airspaces (although the routes free route segments themselves do not need to be published) and controllers should be supported with advanced conflict-detection tools, as the aircraft’s whereabouts are no longer as predictable as they would be in structured airspace. 

The FRA concept only applies during the flight plan stage, i.e. before the plane has left the ground. Once the flight plan has been submitted and approved, the flight becomes subject to that plan and to authorisation from air traffic control (ATC), which will continue to ensure that the aircraft remain separated from each other (as it does at present).

The HISPAFRA project aims to implement the concept of free route airspace (FRA) within Spain. At the European level, the FRA initiative is promoted and coordinated by EUROCONTROL. / PHOTO_INECO

the phases of hispafra

The implementation of HISPAFRA has been divided into different phases: in each phase the restrictions become more flexible and new functionalities are incorporated into the control system, while maintaining appropriate levels of capacity and safety. The European regulations stipulate that the initial phase must be implemented before 31 December 2022 and the final stage by December 2025, along with a cross-border element involving at least one other Member State. After this date, rollout of the FRA concept will continue and there will be greater cross-border implementation between Member States, thereby enabling a more flexible European airspace and more efficient planning on the part of airlines. 

For phase 1 of HISPAFRA, two FRA cells have been defined: the continental cell, comprising the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands; and the Canary Islands cell. These cells will enter into force on 21 April 2022. 

Existing published routes will not be eliminated during this initial phase; rather, airspace users will have the additional option of drawing up FRA plans that make use of these existing routes. This will enable the transition towards a free route approach for all, without changing the way in which ATC operates and with the aim of maintaining the same levels of capacity and safety, while enabling users to gradually adapt their systems in preparation for the subsequent phases. 

Looking ahead to these subsequent phases, in which free connection between a greater number of waypoints will gradually become more flexible, ENAIRE is developing and deploying a series of new functionalities for its ATC system. These functionalities enable controllers to determine, ahead of time and with increased precision, whether a particular flight level or direct route presents an air traffic risk, prior to granting ATC clearance for separation provision. Examples of the tools available include Medium-Term Conflict Detection (MTCD) and Tactical Trajectory Management (TTM).

more flexible planning

Collaboration has also begun on the study process for the subsequent phases of the HISPAFRA project. While still allowing airlines to prepare flight plans in structured airspace or FRA, and without making changes to the ATC system, the aim is to make the connection between certain FRA waypoints more flexible (whether within the same control centre or between different control centres) in comparison to existing structured routes, thereby gradually expanding the range of planning options available to users.

Over time, HISPAFRA will introduce more flexible planning options, while making changes to the ATC system in order to be able to detect conflicts. This will allow users greater flexibility, while maintaining appropriate levels of capacity and safety.

Although the FRA concept does not imply the absence of rules, it does allow for greater dispersal of air traffic in comparison to structured airspace, thereby reducing “traffic jams”

Finally, the project will introduce the possibility of eliminating restrictions with  at  least  one  neighbouring  state (so-called ‘cross-border FRA’), thereby enabling users to plan flights between different Member States as though they shared a single airspace. To achieve this, the ATC system for each Member State must have interoperability functionalities, adapted in line with the FRA concept.

Airspace is changing, and Ineco is at the forefront of these changes with a team of experts that are helping to define the  FRA significant points, the FRA concept of operations, the ATC system requirements, and the implications these developments may have for the ATC procedures to keep  safety at sustainable levels within the context of the increasingly air traffic demand.

Supported by Ineco

PHOTO_PIQSELS.COM

Since 2019, the company has helped ENAIRE to implement HISPAFRA by carrying out a range of actions:

• Publication of FRA information via AIP (Aeronautical Information Publication), in accordance with the implementation guides provided in EUROCONTROL’s ERNIP (European Route Network Improvement Plan) and in coordination with all of the actors affected by the change. 
• Collaboration with ENAIRE’s Director of Operations on the development of tools for the automated transition (during this initial phase, owing to the large volume of data for the current structure) towards the definition of HISPAFRA points (in AIP Spain) and the rules governing the restrictions on flexible connection to these points, via direct entry in the Route Availability Document (RAD). 
• Support for the changes introduced by the reviewers and the discoveries made during the pre-validation processes carried out on EUROCONTROL’s systems, prior to the implementation of HISPAFRA. 
• Support for the maintenance and updating of the operational concept for HISPAFRA, and attending (and preparing materials for) internal and external coordination meetings. 
• Support for coordination with the ATC centres of neighbouring Member States, so that the internal operational documentation for ATC is in line with the operational concept for HISPAFRA. 

Once again, Ineco has taken part –as both exhibitor and speaker–at the World ATM Congress, the foremost international event for the air navigation industry, which took place from 26 to 28 October at Madrid’s IFEMA Trade Fair Centre. The event was organised by Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) and the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA). Ineco shared a stand with Enaire and Senasa.

The congress, which was officially opened by the king, brought together around 10,000 professionals from 130 countries and, for the first time, hosted Expodrónica, a trade fair dedicated to the unmanned-aircraft industry. In fact, Víctor Gordo, in one of the two technical talks given by Ineco, gave a presentation on the use of drones to calibrate radio navigation. In the other talk, Eva García gave a presentation on the EOS tool for designing flight procedures.

Carmen Librero with Andrés Arranz, CEO of Senasa, and Ángel Luis Arias, general manager of ENAIRE, greeting king Felipe VI and Isabel Pardo de Vera, secretary of State for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, at the opening ceremony. / PHOTO_ELVIRA VILA

Since 2 June, the European satellite navigation system, Galileo, has had a new Information Centre in Mexico City, located in the facilities of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

The objectives of the centre, similar to others existing in different parts of the world, such as Brazil –in which Ineco is also involved– and Chile, are to promote and disseminate Galileo in its geographical area (Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean), as well as to monitor local initiatives for use in different fields and to provide training in satellite navigation, bringing together industrial, institutional and university/research sectors.

Ineco will support Telespazio, the project coordinator, in tasks related to market analysis and stakeholder identification, as well as in establishing industrial collaborations between European and Latin American partners. The project will run for three years.

This centre contributes to the European Commission’s space outreach activities to promote EU Space Programmes and encourage their use in the Latin American market.

When the Galileo satellite radio navigation and positioning system is fully operational, with its 30 satellites deployed, it will be possible to determine the location of people and objects with a precision and speed that are currently unattainable. In addition, it will provide Europe with a navigation system that is independent from the existing satellite positioning systems such as the North American GPS which operates using 31 satellites and Russia’s GLONASS, which uses 24 satellites.

The North American and Russian systems, along with the Chinese BDS, operate under military control, making Galileo the only one designed for civilian purposes and completely open to commercial use. It will also provide Europeans with independence from the Russian and American systems, which is of strategic importance, taking into account that, if they were to be blocked, up to 10% of the European economic activity depends to a greater or lesser extent on satellite navigation.

The importance of these systems in the world economy and transport is growing, along with the range of uses. It is for this reason that, after more than ten years of work, the European space industry and institutions have been able to conduct a project to deliver the highly competitive performance that will finally give Europe its desired technological and strategic independence. It will also allow access to a market with great potential for growth. See https://www.gsc-europa.eu/.

Galileo will provide signals for positioning, navigation and time measurement that are much more accurate than the other systems

When it is fully operational, Galileo, which was developed by the EU with the assistance of the European Space Agency (ESA) and whose services are operated by the European Global Satellite Agency (GSA), will provide signals for positioning, navigation and time measurement with much greater accuracy than the other systems, free of charge, for an unlimited number of users, and with the guarantee that the signals will be available anywhere in the world. It will be interoperable with the GPS system and will offer a paid commercial service that provides high precision and authentication.

Moreover, Galileo will offer a two other services: the PRS (Public Regulated Service) service which has highly robust signals that protect against malicious interference and which is intended for government use by security and civil protection organisations; and support for the SAR service (search and rescue), a European contribution to the international rescue service COSPAS-SARSAT. One of the biggest innovations is the incorporation of a return channel that informs those seeking assistance that their message has been received and that help is on the way. In addition, the Galileo technology makes it possible to reduce the search radius, and with it, the rescue time, which is a critical factor in saving lives on these missions.

According to the European Global Satellite Agency (GSA), the market for applications based on satellite navigation systems will grow 11% per year in Europe over the next few years, reaching 165 billion Euros in 2020, just for activities directly related to the system (chips, maps or services), without taking into account the activities facilitated by this technology, such as mobile phones with satellite navigation capabilities (GNSS). Galileo will be key to the introduction of this technology to the market, to complement the GPS system.

Galileo, in conjunction with GPS, will open a new era of satellite navigation through the introduction of the ‘multi-constellation’ concept. In the case of rail transport, aviation or road, this combined use will be very useful for fleet management, pinpointing the location of vehicles or vessels in real time, even in remote locations or in areas with poor visibility.

Satellite navigation is also an essential tool for scientists, astronomers, geologists and biologists who follow the movements of planets, the Earth and wildlife. For example, this type of positioning and location system allows animal tracking or drone monitoring. In addition, its time measurement, which is accurate to one billionth of a second, allows all kinds of measurements and scientific experiments to be performed with great accuracy.

1.5 BILLION FOR SATELLITE MANAGEMENT

In December 2016, the GSA, the organization responsible for operation of the Galileo system, awarded the contract for its operation and maintenance for the next 10 years to Spaceopal, a company formed by the Italian company Telespazio and the German company DLR GfR, which already managed the Galileo Control Centres (GCC) in Italy and Germany, respectively. Spaceopal’s industrial team includes the participation of a Spanish group led by Ineco with the collaboration of INTA and Isdefe.

The contract, valued at 1.5 billion Euros, includes the operation and maintenance of the Galileo system:

• Operation of the Galileo satellites from the two main control centres located in Germany and Italy.
• Service and information to the users, as well as activities for the evolution of services and applications from the GSC centre, located in Madrid, for the data distribution network of Galileo.
• Logistics and maintenance of the system.
• Management of minor developments and support for major developments of the system.

Named after the Genius

The astronomer, physicist and mathematician Galileo Galilei, born in Pisa (Italy) in 1564, would certainly appreciate the progress of a project like the one that bears his name. He was found guilty by the Inquisition for maintaining, among other theories, that the Sun was the centre of the solar system and the Earth rotated on its own axis. Although there is no historical record, he is credited with the famous sentence spoken before the court: Epur si muove. Although he officially recanted his scientific assertions, thanks to which his prison sentence was commuted to lifelong house arrest, he continued researching them until his death in 1642, the same year in which Isaac Newton was born. The image shows, Galileo teaching the Doge of Venice how to use a telescope. Fresco de Giuseppe Bertini (1825-1898).

On 10 May, the minister of Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna, submitted the Air Navigation Plan for 2017-2020, as the culmination of a long and participative process, opening the way to the progressive implementation of the ENAIRE’s new strategy. The strategic plan, known in ENAIRE as the Flight Plan 2020, is based on the predicted increase in traffic and the measures to be adopted to manage the expected demand for flights, with adequate capacity, efficiency and quality in regard to its customers and stakeholders.

Route charges will drop 11.5% between 2018 and 2020, reducing costs for airlines by 184 million Euros

ENAIRE’s ambition in its new strategy is “to lead the safe, efficient, quality and sustainable delivery of air navigation services in a competitive global environment, to be valued by customers and society, and depend on people as the main engine driving the company”.

To achieve this leadership, the main pillars are a commitment to society in terms of safety and the environment; customer-orientation, with special emphasis on the quality of services; teams committed to a proactive approach and innovation and, as a public business entity, transparency and good governance.

Capacity and efficiency

ENAIRE wants to respond adequately to the capacity requirements in an environment of increasing demand, while also improving airspace efficiency by helping users to optimise the distance flown.

The plan includes redesigning Spanish airspace to improve en-route operations and redesigning terminal areas, especially in Madrid, Barcelona and Palma, to improve operations in airports.

The Free Route concept (free route in the upper airspace), the flexible use of airspace thanks to civil-military coordination and the implementation of new procedures based on satellite technology will further contribute to the achievement of the capacity and efficiency objectives.

Where the investment is going

ENAIRE is Europe’s fourth largest supplier in terms of managed flights in its airspace, which is one of the most extensive in Europe, with 2.2 million square kilometres. The Single European Sky framework makes airspace an increasingly global and more competitive environment, and ENAIRE is focusing its investments, 300 million euros over the next four years, on upgrading and modernizing its air navigation system, incorporating research, development and innovation.

Investments (70.1 million euros in 2017, 73.3 million in 2018, 74.8 million in 2019 and 76.0 million euros in 2020) will be made, among many other aspects, in initiatives such as the following:

• Evolution of the Automated Air Traffic Control System (SACTA, as its acronym in Spanish) with advanced solutions and a new control position harmonized with the principal European suppliers (iTEC project).
• Modernization of voice communication systems between controllers and pilots, incorporating ground-to-air data links.
• Upgrading of navigation and surveillance systems: new precision procedures, state-of-the-art radar (Mode S) and satellite technologies (EGNOS, ADS-B).
• Deployment of a new high-performance data network for information exchange.
• Improvement of the maintenance model for infrastructure and air navigation systems.

More competitive charges

ENAIRE will reduce its route charges by 11.5% between 2018 and 2020 (3.0% in 2018, 4.0% in 2019 and 5.0% in 2020). After 2019, ENAIRE’s route charge will be in the lowest of the major European suppliers. The savings for airlines and, therefore, the improvement of the competitiveness of Spanish air transport, is expected to total 184 million euros.

Environmental benefits

The following environmental benefits will be achieved thanks to the improved efficiency of the 2017-2020 routes: savings of 5.5 million nautical miles, 60,000 tonnes of fuel and 190,000 tonnes of CO2. The fuel cost savings in the period will exceed 25 million euros.

Improving the efficiency of routes will reduce emissions by 190,000 tonnes

In Spain and in the world

ENAIRE provides air traffic services in 22 control towers in Spain’s airports, including the 5 airports with the largest traffic volume and in all airports that offer approach control. It has 307 radio aids, 54 surveillance systems, 130 communications centres, 100 REDAN nodes for voice and data, 94 control tower and approach positions, and 118 route positions.

Beyond Spain’s borders, ENAIRE is actively involved in international consortiums and satellite navigation (ESSP) and satellite surveillance (ADS-B) partnerships. It is also part of the Pan-European Digital Communications Service (NewPENS) until 2028, the European ATM Information Management Service (EAIMS) until 2030, and has opted for new opportunities in satellite data communications (IRIS) services.

ENAIRE’s automatic air traffic control system (SACTA for its acronym in Spanish), is a complex system of local machines and servers, installed in control centres and towers, that share information in real time. SACTA makes it possible to automate the acquisition, processing, distribution and presentation of the data required to carry out air traffic control tasks that form part of the air traffic management (ATM) system. The main objective of ATM is to regulate traffic in a secure and orderly fashion, as well as to ensure that air navigation system capacity can meet the demand. SACTA began providing service in 1990 at Palma de Mallorca’s control centre; nowadays it is the only traffic control system in all of Spain’s airports.

This system carries out the integration, automation and improvement of processes which allow for the control of aircraft that are en route, approaching and near the tower. In this way, information can be coherently processed and the associated air traffic control and management services have the support they need to meet security and service objectives. It is an ever-evolving system, meaning that ENAIRE is constantly perfecting and modernising it.

Ineco has collaborated with ENAIRE since 1998 on the evolution of SACTA, as well as on the automatic system for flight plan, aeronautical and meteorological information (ICARO), by participating in the specifications, design, testing and commissioning of new functionalities. Ineco’s experts are part of system evolution and development in almost all areas, from the design of both functional and hardware architecture requirements, to maintenance and assistance to different ENAIRE users. A broad range of ATM system knowledge is obtained this way, proving extremely useful to the company and facilitating its national and international expansion.

Broadly speaking, the SACTA system makes it possible:

• To provide the controller with all relevant, updated air traffic data, thus facilitating interoperability between control facilities, collateral installations in Spain and abroad, and the CFMU.
• For controllers and technicians to receive training in a dynamic simulation environment.

A modular, redundant design was chosen to deal with such a complex system, thus allowing it to evolve with the least possible disruption to the operation.

Information that is always available to air traffic

The SACTA system, via its subsystems, integrates and provides the following information which is available to air traffic controller at all times:

• Flight plan information: the system is in charge of processing the flight plans received, determining routes and flight profiles. It also guarantees the interoperability of control facilities and foreign agents, making them fully compatible with flight plans that have origins and/or destinations beyond Spain’s borders.
• Flight monitoring: the system makes it possible to identify and obtain the position and information regarding aircraft trajectories in controlled airspace, as well as the capacity to ensure the separation and controlled flow of flights. This information is obtained by integrating data from the radar and sensor network for position within national territory, with the data provided by each aircraft in real time.
• Aeronautical and meteorological information: the system receives and processes meteorological and aeronautical messages (such as SMI, QNH and NOTAM).
• Supervision: the purpose of the system is to monitor, control and configure the HW/SW subsystems, which make up the SACTA system, thus promoting its reliability and integrity.
• Recording and operations: these allow for the analysis and study of operational and technical information.

SACTA SCREEN. The SACTA system determines routes and flight profiles, identifies the position of aircraft and ensures their separation in airspace.

New functionalities

Greater capacity, precision, savings and efficiency

The main purpose of SACTA, as an ATM system in service, is traffic security in all airspace sectors, thus the reason why it is constantly evolving. The automation of processes which are increasingly complex due to the high concentration of flights in European skies is organised, developed and tested alongside ATC personnel. This makes the information received by air traffic controllers through their HMI (Human Machine Interface) accurate and relevant, thus improving and strengthening communication flows with aircraft and different subsystems. The latest SACTA development included a series of functionalities which noticeably improve efficiency in route control, TMA and TWR. Below are the details concerning the most important changes currently being implemented:

• Paperless Operations (OSF for its acronym in Spanish).The flight progress strip is a fundamental tool for air traffic controllers. This little slip of paper contains the essential information about the route or itinerary for each controlled flight. With the use of ‘paperless operations’, aerodrome control management is possible with electronic flight strips. These strips appear on the screen in the same order as the old strips which were organised in bays. This system did not simply replace paper, but it had to be adapted to the different roles performed by tower controllers. Management of traffic in the tower is divided into three different areas of responsibility: Clearance (ATC authorisation and start-up), taxi track (taxi clearance) and Local control (clearance for takeoff and landing); these areas of responsibility can be assigned individually, or several can be integrated into a control position. Accordingly, for each case the electronic flight strip presented will follow its functional cycle in line with the areas of responsibility assigned to each control position. Implementation of paperless operations (OSF), presently at Palma de Mallorca and Malaga airports, immediately resulted in increased efficiency and capacity.
• Air Ground DataLink (AGDL). AGDL implements land-air point-to-point digital communication, allowing for the exchange of information between the aircraft and the Control Centre regarding two different technologies: ATN and FANS. Among other amenities, it provides ADS-C and CPDLC services. Implementation of ADS-C (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Contract), only in the FANS network, represents significant progress in surveillance. It generates periodic reports or variables on request such as aircraft position and speed, using available aviation information as the source, including GPS data. CPDLC technology (Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication) consists in exchanging a series of pre-defined text messages based on a common phraseology between the air traffic controller and the pilot. This technology makes it possible, among other benefits, to accelerate operating instructions and prevent confusion caused by voice dialogues, thus a complementary tool to this technology.
• Collaborative Decision Making (CDM). The CDM project is an operational efficiency improvement tool whose approach is the process of aircraft rotation, based on the philosophy of sharing information that affects flights, among the different actors involved (handling, control, airlines and airport). This information is processed, thus increasing its accuracy and completeness. Reduced wait times and increased efficiency are achieved with this tool. The CDM process involves adapting the procedures that the airport operates with.
• Arrival Manager (AMAN). The Arrival Manager implements calculation of the optimal airport arrival sequence by utilising efficiency criteria to reduce wait times, thus facilitating flight transfer between APP and TWR.
• eCOS/eVEREST. Although it is almost at the end of the list, it represents the most important change in the evolution of system hardware and software in recent years. It involves a redistribution of the system’s core information nodes, thus affecting the overall architecture of the system. It goes from a configuration where the Seville and Palma servers are integrated, in a centralised manner, in Madrid and Barcelona respectively, together with their affected TWR facilities. The impact on the distribution of flight plan, radar, aeronautical and meteorological information is global, but the costs for implementation, commissioning, maintenance and development are reduced. Although it is a big change to the infrastructure, it is not a big change for normal control operations, meaning that it is transparent.
• Phase 2 Configuration (CF2 for its acronym in Spanish). CF2 affords easier operations, based on the aircraft tag that the air traffic controller sees on the screen. This tag displays colour changes or blinking on a global level or in certain fields, some of which are new, depending on the status of the flight plan, transfers between sectors, restrictions and alerts.

The main purpose of SACTA, as an ATM system in service, is to provide the tools which make it possible to guarantee the separation of traffic in all airspace sector. / PHOTO_PABLO NEUSTADT

Kaohsiung port, the largest in Taiwan and one of the most important ports in the world in terms of container traffic, is in full expansion with the construction of a new intercontinental container zone, a project that the Ministry of Transport and Communication of Taiwan and the Kaohsiung Port Branch (KPB) began in 2007. To increase its current loading capacity an increase in the size of cranes is necessary to about 150 metres in height in various docks of the port, which is equivalent to a building of 33 floors, such as the Agbar tower in Barcelona. However, the installation of such large cranes would be interfering with the current operations of Kaohsiung international airport, located just two kilometres away, and it would infringe upon the airport’s protection areas. With the objective that the Taiwanese Civil Aviation Authority allows the installation of the cranes, the port authority of Kaohsiung has commissioned a study whose objective is to demonstrate that the cranes will not negatively affect the safety of air operations. This project is being executed jointly by Ineco and the local company MiTAC.

In the context of the project, Ineco has already carried out a series of key activities with regard to evaluating the feasibility of an increase in the height of the cranes. Firstly, Ineco engineers have analysed both the maximum heights that the cranes could reach in each dock of the port without interfering with the instrument flight procedures published (including take-off, approach and landing manoeuvres and flights en route), as well as the modifications that would be necessary in the flight procedures for these to be compatible with the heights of the cranes required by Kaohsiung port authority in each of the port’s docks, thus ensuring the safety of these operations in accordance with the procedure design standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

To increase the current loading capacity of the Kaohsiung port it is necessary to increase the size of the cranes to about 150 metres in height in various docks of the port, which makes it necessary to modify the instrument flight procedures of the airport

Secondly, given that cranes of such large dimensions can be an obstacle for the correct transmission of electromagnetic signals of the air navigation facilities located in the vicinity, Ineco experts have studied their compatibility with all of the communications, navigation and surveillance systems that support the operations in Kaohsiung airport and in the surrounding air space, with 11 facilities in total being analysed, including instrument landing systems, primary and secondary surveillance radars, distance measuring equipment and communication centres. The examination of communications, navigation and surveillance systems (known as CNS systems) was carried out in terms of coverage and quality of the signal in space (through the study of potential multipath phenomena), with support from specialised radioelectric simulation tools.

Moreover, taking into account the new dimensions of the cranes, it was analysed in which way the obstacle limitation surfaces of Kaohsiung airport, established in Taiwanese regulations, would be infringed and recommendations were provided with respect to marking and lighting needs for the cranes that do so, in accordance with ICAO regulations. Lastly, Ineco provided the relevant recommendations regarding operations of the pilots.

The methodology for executing the previously mentioned analyses was also defined by Ineco, using for this purpose its extensive experience in studies of these kinds both in Spain and in other countries, and adopting the necessary hypotheses in each case, since cranes are mobile objects and since the model intended to be installed was not known.

As a result, the report shows, on one hand, for the 44 docks analysed the maximum achievable height compatible with the current instrument flight procedures, and the modifications necessary in these procedures (increase of the climb gradient in certain departures, modification of the operation minimums in various approaches, etc.) with regard to allowing the installation of cranes with the required height in each of the docks; moreover, with the objective of ensuring compatibility with current and future CNS systems, both the adaptations that must be carried out in the systems, when they are necessary and feasible, and the maximum heights that cranes can achieve to ensure that no adverse effects will occur (when there is no mitigation mechanism of this effect through the adaptation of systems) are depicted; lastly, the infringements of the protection surfaces over the 44 docks are detailed as well as the associated marking and lighting recommendations.

The methodology for executing the analyses was defined by Ineco, using for this purpose its extensive experience in studies of these kinds both in Spain and in other countries, and adopting the necessary hypotheses in each case

For years Ineco has carried out work relating to obstacle limitation surfaces, flight procedures or CNS systems in airports in Spain, Oman, the UAE, Cape Verde, Singapore and Kuwait, among other countries.