A-SMGCS enters operation in Hamburg, facilitating improved traffic control on the apron, and enhanced ground mouvements traffic efficiency and safety

The ground situation monitoring system of the future has a name: A-SMGCS. And at Hamburg Airport, the future has already begun. The innovative “Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System” has successfully entered operation at Hamburg Airport. The three project partners, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (German Air Traffic Services), DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (German Aerospace Center) and FHG Flughafen Hamburg GmbH (Hamburg Airport) presented their joint project, unique in Europe, at a press conference at Hamburg Airport. 

Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport: “We are really delighted that our cooperation with German Air Traffic Services and the German Aerospace Center, which began in 2008, is bearing fruit today. Hamburg Airport is one of the first airports in Europe where the visionary A-SMGCS ground radar is in operation. The simultaneous installation of a test environment linked with operative systems is unique in Europe. A-SMGCS supports the work of apron controllers with optimised visual representation of the situation, contributes to increased security in ground traffic control and facilitates more efficient traffic management. This not only saves costs, it also benefits the environment. A-SMGCS will enable us to reduce airside emissions by a total of 10 percent.” The head of DFS, Dieter Kaden, praised both the new system itself and the strong, close cooperation between the airport, research & development, and air traffic control. “Only by working together can we master the challenge of making sure that air travel remains not only the safest but also the most punctual means of transport, even with future increases in traffic volume.” Prof. Dr Joachim Szodruch, the DLR board member responsible for aviation research, emphasised that “this new ground traffic management system and the associated test environment mean that we have created something that is to date unique in Europe: the possibility of optimising ground traffic movements, to organise processes in a safer way, and to decisively reduce the burden of apron controllers. This exemplary test environment is currently being utilised within the framework of the “Efficient Airport 2030” flagship project, thereby having a definitive influence on further research work within the field of Total Airport Management.” 

Source: Air Transport News