ENAIRE will invest 9.5 million euros to transfer and virtualise air traffic control systems supported by Voice over IP

At its meeting today, ENAIRE's Board of Directors approved an open procedure tender (as per Royal Decree-Law 3/2020) to transfer and supply the automated air traffic control systems (SACTA) and integrated digital voice systems (COMETA) to the new technical building of the Madrid Air Control Centre, at an estimated cost of €9,512,814,00 (excluding taxes), with a 24-month delivery period out to 2025. This action is part of the agency's strategic Technological Modernisation Plan.

This building is currently being set up and will be available this year for air traffic control training and contingencies. With 2,000 m² per floor, it will house equipment rooms, training classrooms and air traffic control simulators. It will also house ENAIRE's Network Services and Supervision Centre - SYSRED H24.

These systems are used to manage air traffic, for simulations and operational training environments for controllers and pseudo-pilots, as well as for new communications architectures

This approved contract includes the removal, relocation, re-installation and commissioning of the servers that provide service to ENAIRE's air traffic control systems, such as SACTA and COMETA, and the provision of training at the Madrid Control Centre. The actions will be carried out at the Control Centre in Madrid, Barcelona and at ENAIRE's Centre for Experimentation and Development, and include new communications and virtualisation architectures with the highest security standards.

It will also serve to meet the growing training needs for personnel who manage en-route, terminal manoeuvring area and control tower airspace. Twelve simulators will be virtualised, which will be installed in ENAIRE's private cloud for air traffic management services, located in the Madrid and Barcelona control centres, together with an 8-position, 180º control tower simulator from GammaSim, ENAIRE's training platform.

This investment will also allow the current pseudo-pilot platform, which supports controller training, to be expanded and renewed in order to standardise it with the new equipment. It also includes all of the associated hardware and servers needed to commission the equipment, with their relevant testing, training and technical documentation.

Air navigation data network

Elsewhere, ENAIRE's Board of Directors today awarded Telefónica Soluciones de Informática y Comunicaciones de España, S.A.U., using an open procedure tender (Royal Decree-Law 3/2020), a technical support contract worth €7,139,500 to provide technical support for the operation of the air navigation data network (REDAN). The contract duration is 36 months.

The REDAN system carries voice and data between different air navigation users in Spain, such as pilots and air traffic controllers, and it carries the information on radar surveillance, aeronautical and navigation services such as navaids, and from stations in the European EGNOS satellite surveillance system.

This network consists of an infrastructure based on the Internet protocol (IP) that, in addition to allowing the incorporation of future developments and needs related to data exchange, also integrates voice over IP (VoIP) to carry air traffic control voice communications. It is also interconnected with other networks (Europea, AEMET and Ministry of Defence).

Moreover, it provides coverage at all the sites that send or receive data relating to the various applications of the Air Navigation System (SNA): air traffic control centres, airports, air bases, radars, communication centres, and more.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approach services to every airport in the country.

In addition, 45 control towers receive ENAIRE's communication, navigation and surveillance services, and 21 airports, including the country's busiest, rely on its aerodrome control services.

ENAIRE is Europe's fourth largest air traffic manager and participates in the A6 Alliance, a coalition of air navigation providers responsible for over 80% of European air traffic, and which is seeking to modernise the air traffic management system. It is also a member of other international alliances promoting the Single European sky, such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO and ICAO.

ENAIRE, as the agency appointed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to implement the U-space system in Spain, will be the provider of the Common Information Services (CIS), which are essential for administering U-space services to drones and Urban Air Mobility, in interaction with local air traffic control services, so that all types of aircraft can fly safely in the same airspace.

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator. It has also been awarded the EFQM 500 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.