SITAONAIR ATC technologies to transform region’s busiest airport

Baku, home to the Caucasus’ busiest airport, is to receive transformative Air Traffic Control (ATC) air/ground communications services from SITAONAIR under a new deal with AZANS, Azerbaijan Air Navigation Services Department of “Azerbaijan Hava Yollari” CJSC.

SITAONAIR – the industry’s aircraft communications expert – has been selected to provide a suite of technical air/ground (A/G) datalink communications services for ATC towers, airlines and airspace users at Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan.

With SITAONAIR’s solutions, AZANS will be equipped, for the first time, to increase the efficiency and safety of air navigation at Baku, and the upper Azerbaijan airspace, by enabling air traffic controllers and pilots to exchange messages in digital format. The airspace of the Azerbaijan Republic spans 165,400 square kilometres, with 86,600 square kilometres over land, and 78,000 square kilometres over the Caspian Sea*.

Farhan Guliyev, Director, AZANS, says: “We are immensely proud to have selected this technical solution from SITAONAIR, the leaders in aircraft communications, to adopt air/ground datalink services. Together, we will advance Baku’s air navigation operations and safety, with clear digital messaging that is more consistent and dependable than voice, while reducing controller and pilot workloads.”

SITAONAIR will provide pre-Future Air Navigation Service (pre-FANS) comprising Datalink Departure Clearance (DCL), Datalink Automatic Terminal Information Service (D-ATIS) and Datalink Meteorological Information for Aircraft in Flight (D-VOLMET) air/ground communications services at the airport. It will also deliver its AIRCOMClever, AIRCOMevatis and AIRCOMevamet ATC ground-end systems at Baku airport tower, along with its Future Air Navigation Service (FANS), at Baku airspace control centre.

Stephan Egli, Commercial Regional VP Middle-East, Africa & Europe, SITAONAIR, said: “We are thrilled to be selected by AZANS, Azjerbaijan’s air navigation service provider, as SITAONAIR’s first air traffic control customer in the Caucasus for our ATC air/ground communications services. This important agreement represents just the start of our work to support the digital transformation of ATC in the region, and we are ambitious to join other partners in the Caucasus to drive progress.

“With SITAONAIR, AZANS has a truly integrated ATC communications solution, from the industry’s experts in the field, that enables both airspace users and controllers in the tower to digitally advance their operations.”