Hong Kong International Airport selects Searidge for industry’s largest digital platform for tower and apron management

20/04/2021

Searidge Technologies announced they have been selected by Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), to deploy a single digital tower and apron platform to support their airport transformation and large-scale expansion plans at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

The Searidge Digital Apron and Tower Management System (DATMS) will include delivery of a Digital Apron Management System (DAMS) to the Airport (AAHK) and Digital Tower Facilities (DTF) to the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) (Civil Aviation Department). Given the synergies of both technologies, the groups decided to collaborate to leverage a common software platform, technical infrastructure and video image system.

The DAMS will provide aerodrome surveillance and anomaly detection functionality. The solution will provide personnel in the Integrated Airport Centre (IAC) with situational awareness on apron(s) and critical aircraft manoeuvring area(s) for situation assessment and operations planning.

The DTF will ensure the provision of safe and efficient air traffic control services by providing visual augmentation, situational awareness enhancement and early alert of conflicting situations. The system will help address the limitations of traditional air traffic control tower sighting by eliminating sight-obstructed apron / taxiway areas and runway ends for all weather and/or all day-light conditions including but not limited to low-visibility operations, heavy rain, etc.

“We are transforming HKIA into a smart airport leveraging innovations and technologies. The DATMS will help enhance the efficiency of the airside operations and air traffic management at HKIA,” says Chapman Fong, General Manager, Airfield of AAHK.

As part of their Asia Pacific market strategy, Searidge has partnered with Chinney Alliance Engineering Ltd. to service and support Hong Kong and mainland China. The two companies have worked together on several projects in the region, including systems in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“We have been working with the teams in Hong Kong since 2018 on various trial systems,” says Moodie Cheikh, CEO, Searidge Technologies. We are happy to be part of this monumental project, the first collaboration between an airport and an ANSP for a single digital platform and the largest digital deployment to date. This collaboration shows the way forward in airport digitalization, a single platform that unites airport stakeholders to enhance safety, operational resilience, interoperability and collaborative decision making.”

Smart/digital towers Asia-Pacific