Airport Business

MAY 2014

The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.

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May 2014 airportbusiness 11 It's a fitting catchphrase given that the improvements are part of an overall effort to help the airport, nestled on 1,700 acres in Broward County, Fla., handle more passengers and jet traffic while preserving its reputation as both affordable and convenient. The enhancements include a new $791 million, 8,000-foot south runway, 10R/28L, which runs parallel to the airport's north runway. Its presence will give the airport a second runway to handle large commercial jets as well simultaneous takeoffs and landings to boost capacity and flexibility. Functioning quietly behind the scenes, when this runway opens later this year, is cutting-edge technology expected to change the way airports monitor aircraft from the time they land until they pull into the gate. The Virtual Airfield Management System (VAMS) from Air-Transport IT Services Inc. (AirIT) in partnership with Searidge Technologies relies on advanced technology to manage airfield traffic safely and efficiently from a remote location. "When this project is complete, the airport will be able to manage ramp con- trol operations from anywhere," says Jeffrey Shull, executive vice president of Orlando, Fla.-based AirIT. "They could essentially sit in a closed room and just use the display to facilitate ramp control in real time." And when fully incorporated into the airport's existing Airport Information Management System (AIMS), which includes AirIT's EASE shared-use infrastructure platform, PROPworks property and revenue management system, an operational database and a resource management system, Shull says Fort Lauderdale will be "the most technologically integrated airport in the country." "The AirIT VAMS system provides native integration with the AIMS opera- tional database, which gives the airport a single source of data consistent with the structure of the existing database design, thus minimizing the risk of data synchronization issues," says Angela Scott, systems and programming manager with the Broward County Aviation Department (BCAD). Shull adds that once this system is deployed it will be the first of its kind in the United States. "We're really looking forward to using this as a flagship site for the vir- tual ramp control system and then replicating that across the United States," he says. THE NEED FOR TECH "Like a lot of airports, Fort Lauderdale does its own ramp control," says Shull. He explains this airport, which sees 23.5 million passengers annually, handles getting airplanes from the gates to FAA ground-control, and from FAA ground-control into the air. COVERSTORY F ort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's $2.3 billion expansion ties in well with the airport's slogan of "Breeze in. Breeze Out." Out airb_10-13_CoverStory.indd 11 5/2/14 9:37 AM

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