Myanmar modernises Air Traffic Management to tackle 55% surge in flight volume

The Department of Civil Aviation of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (DCA) has contracted local subsidiary COMSOFT – CARPE DIEM Ltd to modernise their Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) infrastructure in light of increasing air traffic, essential airspace optimisation and the crucial changeover from Aeronautical Information Services (AIS).

Air traffic in Myanmar has risen dramatically, with an increase of 55 per cent between 2005 and 2012 and, according to a report by Director Air Navigation Safety Regulation of Myanmar, U Tike Aung, has created a need for increased capacity to minimise delays and maintain safety.  By migrating all AIS into a harmonised, digital data presentation the integrity and consistency of aeronautical information is dramatically increased while the efforts for the service delivery are reduced.

In the first phase of the project, taking place later this year, the AIS Office in Myanmar will receive a complete solution to migrate all information into a consistent, electronic data presentation, consisting of COMSOFT’s Aeronautical Information Management Database – CADAS-AIMDB, and electronic publication solution – CADAS-EPS.  The project will also include two Charting workstations, six AIS Flight Data Terminals and two Pilot Briefing workstations.

CADAS-AIMDB is a fully featured AIXM 5.1 Database, which implements the temporality model as defined in version 5 of AIXM. It is designed to serve as a base for integrating AIM applications and components such as electronic AIP, Charting, or Procedure Design. Another major asset in the transition from AIS to AIM is CADAS-EPS, a collaborative document management system specially designed for electronic aeronautical information publications (eAIP), including amendments, supplements and circulars, with an integrated and easy-to-manage eAIP production environment, single-click publication and seamless interoperation with legacy systems.

DCA stated: “COMSOFT’s CADAS-AIMDB facilitates completion of the second stage of the ICAO AIS to AIM roadmap and we have no doubt that COMSOFT – CARPE DIEM Ltd will be the perfect partner as we modernise our air traffic management. Improving our data quality with COMSOFT’s AIM solution is also advantageous for Performance Based Navigation (PBN) which will be implemented at all international airports and some domestic ones.”

Myanmar in Southeast Asia is home to more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the country's largest city, is home to bustling markets, numerous parks and lakes, over 4000 temples scattered in a 26 mile plain. Plans for the country to reach 7.5 million tourists by 2020 confirm the need for a modernised air traffic infrastructure.

The combination of COMSOFT’s AIP tool CADAS-EPS and central aeronautical database CADAS-AIMDB is the answer to the AIS-to-AIM migration challenge, and will lead Myanmar a crucial step forward with their plans for enhanced air traffic services. The system also serves as a first-class foundation for further steps of the ICAO roadmap like electronic terrain and obstacle data management (eTOD), aerodrome mapping (AMDB) and digital NOTAM.