NACL Zambia proudly operates its new IDS Aviation Billing System

The National Airports Corporation of Zambia (NACL) has just completed the first stages of transitioning its new IDS Aviation Billing System (IDS-ABS) into full operations. In partnership with NACL IDS North America Ltd. (IDS NA) has developed an advanced aviation billing system to automate the collection, processing and invoicing of all air navigation service charges for Zambia. The new billing system is a welcomed refresh of NACL’s previous billing platform, which now incorporates the latest industry trends for best billing practices while combining the local billing requirements of NACL and the state of Zambia.

Installed in October 2014 the IDS-ABS is provided with the Air Navigation Module which is designed to provide automated billing for all flight movements regardless of having full surveillance over the state. IDS-ABS automates NACL’s billing process by collecting and processing all international and domestic flight movements received via an AMHS/AIM connection, and can be expanded to interface with the ATM system, which is expected to be installed in the coming years. All flight movements are associated to a specific account and aircraft type thus allowing the system to automate the billing process and invoice the airspace user accordingly. Billing charges include (overflights, landing, take-off, and parking fees).

“I am very pleased with the collaboration we (NACL) had with the IDS team in defining our requirements from the beginning of the project. For us it is evident that the new IDS billing system will drastically improve the efficiency and accuracy of our billing process, which will result in increased revenue collection and cash flow for Zambia’s air navigation services, “ explains Mr. Frank Chinambu, Director of Air Navigation Services, NACL.

IDS-ABS installed at NACL is based on a central server/client architecture with a central aeronautical billing database and a Billing HMI installed on each client position. The central database is physically located in Lusaka, however, is accessible over the NACL LAN/WAN network for billing personnel distributed throughout the country (Livingstone, Ndola, Mfuwe) to manage each of their own airport fees and provide statistics on an airport-by-airport basis to IATA.

IDS-ABS provides a unique capability to interface directly with the AIXM-based AIM system, enabling the billing system to obtain to the most accurate data concerning the customer’s airspace configuration. Because the system makes use of NACL’s most up-to-date airspace configuration, the system can accurately bill the airspace user by matching Filed Flight Plans to existing routes. This new feature will enhance the capability to match flight plans to valid routes, which will result in accurate invoicing to the airspace user.

“IDS NA is pleased to continue to work closely with our good customers in Zambia. Our Aviation Billing System has only been enhanced through the partnership with NACL and has further highlighted our most important corporate value, which is to assist each of our customers to achieve their corporate objectives,” said Dario Rossilli, Chief Operating Officer, of IDS North America Ltd.

NACL can look forward to the opportunity to earn more revenue and enhance its cash flow by increasing accuracy and reducing errors in the billing process using the IDS Aviation Billing System.

IDS NA and NACL will continue to work together in the future. Under the current maintenance program, NACL will benefit from the full support of IDS as well as future billing enhancements to the system.