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Havana Airport gets Russian-made air traffic control systems

In 2014, similar Russian-made systems went on stream in the Cuban resort city of Varadero
Air traffic controller at work ITAR-TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Air traffic controller at work
© ITAR-TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

HAVANA, May 28. /TASS/. A new Russian-made air traffic control system went into operation in the Cuban capital’s Jos· Mart· International Airport, the manufacturer VNIIRA-OVD told TASS.

"VNIIRA-OVD, jointly with St. Petersburg Digital Radio Systems (CRTS) research and production enterprise, implemented a project to deliver and prepare Russian equipment for operating in Cuba," VNIIRA-OVD chief Tatyana Makarova said.

St. Petersburg-based VNIIRA-OVD won a tender among leading air navigation equipment companies to supply air traffic control system for the Havana airport late last year.

"Cuban air navigation service provider ECASA chose Russian-made equipment. A contract was signed in late October 2016, and two moths later all equipment arrived in Cuba," Makarova said.

In 2014, similar Russian-made systems went on stream in the Cuban resort city of Varadero.

"Last year, many US air carriers resumed flights to Cuba, that’s why traffic at the Havana Airport intensified significantly. Under these circumstances, a logical decision was made to modernize the air traffic surveillance system. The Russian-made equipment will make air traffic at the Havana Airport more efficient and safe," the system’s chief designer, Yuri Kapoyko of the CRTS, said.

"This system of multilateration surveillance is based on a new technology, different from traditional radars. It is intended to streamline air traffic in the airport zone and control the movement of aircraft and ground transport on the airport surface," he went on.

The system was certified by Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya in 2016. Preparations to put it into service are currently under way in many Russian airports, including St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport.

The tandem of VNIIRA-OVD and CRTS plans to engage in more projects related to modernization of air traffic control systems in Cuba.