Bahrains Civil Aviation Affairs (BCAA) has
contracted SITA to deliver air/ground data link systems aimed at
enhancing air traffic safety at Manama International Airport and
in airspace under its control.
The first SITA system to be delivered will
enable text-based Departure Clearances to be issued by Air Traffic
Control (ATC) to departing aircraft via SITAs AIRCOM data link
service and is being deployed in response to ICAO recommendations
to enhance ATC operations at airports. The system minimizes the
risk of any misunderstanding between ATC that may occur with
todays voice-based delivery of departure clearances.
The second SITA system to be delivered, known as
FANS 1/A, will enable en-route air traffic controllers to
exchange text-based communications with pilots operating aircraft
in Bahrains upper airspace and will also enable air traffic
controllers to contract the aircraft to downlink its position
information on a periodic basis via SITAs AIRCOM Satellite data
link service as a means to achieve airspace surveillance in areas
beyond radar coverage.
The FANS system is being deployed in response to
Bahrains commitment to support the Arabian Civil Aviation
Conference FANS Implementation Group (AFIG) which is coordinating
the implementation of these services across the ACAC region.
Ali Ahmed Mohammed, Director of Air Navigation,
Civil Aviation Affairs said, This initiative comes in the context
of our efforts to continuously keep our controlled airspace safe
and efficient for the travelling public and our customer airlines.
By complementing our existing Digital Airport Terminal Information
Service with Departure Clearance at Bahrain International Airport
and FANS services at our en-route air traffic control centre we
will be offering a state-of-the-art service enabled by SITAs data
link communications service.
Akhil Sharma, SITAs Head of Air Traffic
Management added, With the increase in air traffic movements in
this region significantly outstripping the global average
Bahrains Civil Aviation Affairs is to be complimented for their
foresight in implementing the complete set of current digital data
link air traffic systems. These services will contribute to
enhancing air traffic safety in Bahrain airspace and set the
standard for the region as a whole.
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