Indra deploys two more air traffic control centers in Saudi Arabia in record time

Indra is breaking all records in the ambitious project of renovating air control centers and towers in Saudi Arabia. Eight months ahead of schedule, the company has delivered Yeda’s en-route and approach control center and Dammam’s approach control center to the country’s navigation service provider, SANS.

Together with Riyadh, Yeda is one of the two control centers responsible for managing traffic en-route across the country. Its successful deployment is a definite step forward for the project, which is now entering the home stretch.

The Dammam center is an advanced one where the access of flights to the different airports in the region is coordinated. This center will control a complex airspace, where a Terminal Control Area (TCA) has been established to manage traffic more efficiently.

This is not the first time Indra has delivered ahead of the tight deadlines agreed with SANS at the beginning of the project, which started in 2017. A few months after starting, Indra delivered Abha’s approach control center which was immediately put into operation.

This was a very significant achievement since it allowed the air traffic controllers to become familiar with Indra’s system, which adds the most advanced tools for flight management with 4D trajectories, route calculation and conflict resolution.

Indra’s technology will allow Saudi Arabia to manage more traffic and offer a better service to airlines. This in turn will draw more tourists and will facilitate pilgrimages to Mecca. The number of followers visiting the Holy City is estimated to triple to over 20 million in the coming years.

Indra has deployed its air traffic management system in other neighboring countries, such as Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. This will bring enormous synergies and make the Arabian Peninsula one of the regions with the most streamlined traffic management and interoperability between countries.

This first-class service will offer significant competitive advantages, which will push the world’s major airlines to make Saudi Arabia’s airports their hubs or operating base. SANS revenues as well as the country’s will thus be strengthened.

Also, this this infrastructure modernization plays a key role in the Vision 2030 plan that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched to diversify and boost its economy.