Spain’s Council of Ministers recently approved the first stage of the deployment of new control positions of ENAIRE, the entity in charge of managing air navigation in the country. In total there will be 132 new iFOCUCS positions, which incorporate state-of-the-art technology for monitoring the airspace.
According to the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda, the Canary Islands will receive 24 control positions, and the centers of Barcelona and Valencia will have another 66 new ones, as a first step. Also, as part of the first phase, the Simulation and Training Center in Madrid will receive 42 new positions (40 in the Control Center and 2 in the Experimentation and Development Center).
The new iFOCUCS positions
«ENAIRE has developed the new iFOCUCS position because the future versions of the Automated Air Traffic Control System (SACTA), with which it manages the flights, require a larger display surface and make it necessary to incorporate relevant information of new functionalities for the control personnel, as well as complementary information to support the controller’s work», the agency states.
They also add that «the project is part of the initiative of the Strategic Plan of the national air navigation manager, called Flight Plan 2025, and contributes to the European Common Project 1 as the first project for the deployment of the new control position SACTA and COMETA (Voice Communications System under IP protocol)».
This new air traffic control system, which is part of the technological alliance within the European iTEC Consortium, will be a key element to improve the efficiency and safety of operations.
