INDRA Technology boosts Oman’s Air Traffic Management

Oman's Public Authority for Civil Aviation already manages all the en-route flights in the country with the systems implemented by Indra in the new air-traffic control center in Muscat, which is now the largest and most advanced on the Arabian Peninsula. 

The center will provide a capability for managing over twice the number of flights a year, and among other objectives, will support the Sultanate's plan to become a landmark tourist destination in the region. The precision offered by Indra's technology for planning aviation operations improves safety and punctuality and reduces costs. This will reinforce the attractiveness of the country's airport for use as an operations base or a major airline hub, thus generating more revenues. 

The Public Authority for Civil Aviation now controls around 1,500 flights a day, a figure that could increase at a rate of 11% a year according to the organization's CEO, Mohammad bin Nasser Al Zaabi, at the inauguration of the new center. Oman's geographic location makes it an area of transit for many flights with destination or origin in other countries in the area and in Asia, so it is required to manage a very high volume of en-route traffic. 

Indra has been working on the comprehensive modernization of Oman's air traffic control systems since 2010, when the company closed an ambitious 85 million euro contract for the modernization of the control centers and towers supporting the operations at the Muscat and Salalah international airports, the two most important. The project also contemplates the renovation of another three regional aerodromes under construction: Sohar, Ras Al Hadd and Duqm. 

The project demanded the highest technical standards, and required implementing systems for automating traffic management, communications, aeronautic messaging, a weather information system and the implementation of aircraft guidance systems in the main airports. All this technology has transformed Oman into a reference in the region and places it on a par with the leading countries in the world. 

For its part, in this period Indra has become one of the leading technology suppliers in the region, participating in key technology projects in the area, including the current deployment of a complete air defense system for Oman, the wholesale modernization of Kuwait's air traffic management systems, and the implementation of the systems for managing the high-speed train line that will link Medina and Mecca, to name just a few of the most important.