Abu Dhabi Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has implemented an advanced surface movement guidance and control system (A-SMGCS).
The A-SMGCS Level 4 system, designed by airport solutions provider ADB Safegate, enables conflict resolution and automatic planning and guidance in all weather conditions, which also improves situational awareness for tower control employees and pilots. It is intended to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of the airport by illuminating runways at night or in low-visibility conditions, like fog. This ensures pilots can easily identify the runway, take-off and touchdown areas, as well as any potential obstructions on the airfield.
The system is also expected to reduce airplane taxi timings and forced diversions due to bad weather, benefiting passengers and mitigating associated costs for airlines. It is designed to upscale the airport’s capacity while reducing power consumption and ensuring minimal maintenance downtime. The system is equipped with ‘Follow the Greens’ technology, which enables intelligent and sustainable routing and guidance by automatically illuminating only the lights needed to guide a specific aircraft to its designated gate.
Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of the airport’s operating company, Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “Our drive to excel and be progressive is a constant that mirrors the drive and ambition of our emirate and the aviation sector. Our goal is to ensure that all of our airports offer state-of-the-art technology to power efficiency and growth and increase our contributions to the emirate’s economy.”
Laurent Dubois, the CEO of ADB Safegate, commented, “We are grateful to Abu Dhabi Airports for the opportunity to bring our latest technologies to this prestigious project serving the main airport for the capital of the UAE. We look forward to continuing to support Abu Dhabi Airports under our long-term maintenance contract, meeting their high standards and embracing their culture of quality, efficiency and sustainability.”
Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, the CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, added, “Abu Dhabi International Airport is the gateway to Abu Dhabi. We take that responsibility seriously and, as a result, we deploy leading-edge systems that improve operational resilience and customer convenience and drive traffic growth while limiting our impact on the environment. This system does it all and we are thrilled to launch it today with our valued partners.”
