ENAIRE, a pioneer in GBAS satellite technology, explains the Madrid-Barajas project

ENAIRE presents its technological advances in air navigation at the World ATM Congress, which is being held from 26 to 28 October in Madrid

The Spanish air navigation service provider prepares landing manoeuvres based on GBAS technology for the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport

GBAS is considered the future of precision approaches with high resilience requirements

Aena will be responsible for purchasing and implementing the equipment for this satellite-aided system at AS Madrid-Barajas, which will make it one of the first airports in the world to have this technology in category II/III

The organisation is also showing how the digitisation of air control communications using Voice over IP offers a unique airspace without interruptions, thus expanding the European Digital Sky

During the World ATM Congress, which is being held in Madrid from 26 to 28 October, ENAIRE presented two projects to modernise its air navigation services.

Patricia Callejo, GNSS Certification Manager at ENAIRE, explained during one of the technical conferences that the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport will have Category II/III GBAS satellite navigation.

The project, named MAGIC, an acronym for Madrid-Barajas Airport GBAS Implementation for CAT II/III ops, will allow the airport to operate with a more accurate air navigation signal. GBAS is considered the future of precision approaches with high resilience requirements. Conceived more than twenty years ago, GBAS is a land-based technology that boosts the GNSS signal (Global Navigation Satellite System), making it more reliable.

Aena will be responsible for implementing the GBAS Category II/III system at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport by purchasing and installing the equipment. The goal is to reinforce the implementation of advanced satellite air navigation aids, which will allow for more accurate approaches and enhance sustainability. With this installation, AS Madrid-Barajas will also be among the world’s first airports to have this advanced system, which will mark the future of precision landing manoeuvres.

ENAIRE and Aena pioneered GBAS by putting into service CAT I GBAS operations at the Malaga Costa del Sol Airport in 2014. It was the second airport in Europe, and the fourth in the world, with this technology. Two CAT II/III GBAS prototypes were subsequently installed at two Spanish airports as part of the SESAR industrial research framework. Currently, ENAIRE and the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport are working closely to implement CAT III GBAS operations at this aerodrome, which could turn it into the first GBAS CAT III scenario in the world.

Ángel Crespo, the head of the Ground-to-Ground Communications Department at ENAIRE, gave a conference on the Single European Sky and IP Voice Communications, in which he discussed how the company is digitising its voice communication systems.

Air control communications networks are allowing the Single European Sky to make strides by connecting each work centre with common standards for operational capacity, safety and efficiency. This connectivity entails some risks, which are adequately mitigated with Voice over IP technology.

This digital system allows for increased service quality and enhances efficiency through greater flexibility, which makes it possible to reconfigure the operational scenario as needed, whether for reasons of efficiency or to implement continuity strategies; in other words, aircraft travel through airspace with no interruptions.

ENAIRE also photos