Working together since 2014, NAVBLUE and Zurich International Airport have improved the capacity of the airport and optimized efficiency in CAT III conditions
Low visibility conditions constitute a major challenge to airports, as raised separation requirements reduce capacity and cause delays. Thanks to the implementation of advanced technology and the support of NAVBLUE , Zurich International Airport has been able to increase the number of movements in low visibility conditions by approximately 20%, starting in October 2016. In order to ensure that aircraft landings in CAT III conditions continue to be effected at the highest safety levels, Zurich Airport and the Swiss Air Navigation Services Provider, Skyguide, have invested in optimised landing technologies by installing a new Instrument Landing System (ILS) 32 elements localizer antenna, supported by NAVBLUE’s Exact Landing Interference Simulation Environment ( ELISE by NAVBLUE) solution. ELISE by NAVBLUE helps airport services to increase capacity, reduce holdings and increase safety in low visibility conditions. It also enables optimization of airside land usage, allowing buildings to be built on land previously deemed non-constructible without disrupting the facility’s ILS signal. ELISE by NAVBLUE has modelled the Zurch airport’s environment with a high level of accuracy including ILS settings and ground relief and the geometry of disturbances on the ILS Signal in 3D. The state-of-the-art simulations have been built to ICAO standard tolerances. With this new technology and modeling in place, Zurich International Airport has been approved by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation to reduce the separation of arriving aircraft in low visibility conditions to five nm in final instead of the traditional six nautical miles.Zurich Airport
NAVBLUE
Skyguide
About NAVBLUE, an AIRBUS Company
NAVBLUE is an integrated Flight Operations and Air Traffic Management Services company providing end-to-end, innovative and integrated flight operations solutions for a wide-range of customers around the world.
About Zurich Airport
Zurich Airport is Switzerland’s gateway to the world. In 2016, more than 27 million passengers departed from, arrived at or transferred via Zurich Airport, thus making it not only the region’s most important transport hub, but also its most important commercial centre. Zurich Airport is an economic driver, housing 280 companies which employ almost 27,000 people.
About Skyguide
Skyguide is responsible for providing air navigation services in Switzerland and in certain adjacent parts of neighbouring countries. With its workforce of some 1 500 employees who are active at 14 locations in Switzerland, skyguide safely and reliably guides some 1.2 million civil and military flights a year through the busiest airspace in Europe.
Skyguide is well integrated into the international air navigation services community and, with its innovative and customer-minded solutions, helps enhance Switzerland’s appeal as a place to live, work and do business. The company is majority-owned by the Swiss Confederation, and is headquartered in Geneva.
