Our Radar Contact podcast reached 11,000+ listeners last year but went offline rather abruptly. After 63 episodes over three seasons, it was a great adventure and we covered ATM from many different topics. Some of you took time to send us feedback and it was mostly positive - thanks for that.
Our objectives with Radar Contact stay the same: a high-quality, advertisement-free, varied podcast, with great insights from guests with various backgrounds. The effort required for this is just too high to be maintained longer and instead of lowering the quality, we decided to make the Radar Contact frequency variable and to keep publishing new episodes but not on a fortnightly basis anymore. So make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to be notified when a new episode comes out.
Another factor played a role in this decision. When we launched Radar Contact, ATM was only treated as a side-topic by aviation podcasts, and there was no real ATM podcast. This changed too now, and there are a handful of great ones produced by organisations with more means:
You can still find the past 63 episodes of Radar Contact online here and we'll post in this weekly review when new episodes come out.
Happy listening!
Vincent
ANSP news
ANSL launches innovative online Human Factors course for ATC trainees- Air Navigation Solutions Limited is introducing an innovative Human Factors course which is tailored to meet the requirements of UK Regulation (EU) 2015/340 and designed to elevate the standards of air traffic control training in the United Kingdom. ATC environment.
Airports news
Cancun: airport will be expanded and remodeled with an investment of $ 24.4 billion - British Aviation Group- Aeropuertos del Sureste announced an investment of $28,496 million for its nine airports between 2024 and 2028. 75% of the total will go to Cancun. In 2024 Terminal 1 will be remodeled and Terminal 4 will be expanded. In addition, the intercommunication road with the Cancun-Airport terminal of the Mayan Train must be complemented.
Market news
Indra and Skyguide strengthen safety and efficiency at Geneva and Zurich airports, two of the most complex in Europe- Indra has strengthened its long-term contribution to safe air traffic in Switzerland in partnership with Skyguide. At Geneva Airport, Indra has provided Skyguide with the Advanced Runway Safety Improvement solution which has been used in Zürich since 2019. In Zürich, Skyguide’s air traffic controllers benefit from an improved user interface with control of airfield ground lightning integrated into the InNOVA ground surveillance system.
FREQUENTIS and US DoD enhance operator safety and situational awareness with deployable digital tower- Frequentis Defense has successfully completed trials of its fixed and deployable digital tower for the United States Department of Defense. The team for Frequentis Defense, the US Air Force Flight Standards Agency, and the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic worked together to successfully complete the three trials of the Frequentis Digital Tower at three Air Force and Naval Air Bases to prove the operational feasibility and benefits of the system for military personnel
VIA Makes History with Record- Breaking Air Traffic Movements in a Single Day- Velana International Airport, the renowned gateway to the Maldives, announces a groundbreaking achievement with a record-breaking number of Air Traffic Movements in a single day. On January 6 VIA recorded 925 ATMs, marking the highest number of airplane movements ever recorded in the history of the airport. This surpasses the previous record of 861 ATMs in a single day.
BULATSA serviced 69 756 flights in December 2023- In December 2023, the Bulgarian air traffic controllers provided air navigation services to 69 756 aircrafts, which is a 14.53% increase compared to 2022. For the last month of the year 2023, the number of international flights that arrived and departed in and from our country was 5 491.
Avinor summarizes aviation for 2023: 10% growth, but 10% below normal- Throughout 2023, there were 624,421 commercial flight movements to and from Avinor's airports. This represents a 1 percent increase compared to 2022. When comparing 2023 with 2019, there is an 8 percent decrease in flight movements.
Not The Same Old Flight Tracking- Connected Aviation Today recently had the opportunity to sit down with Perry Wright, the Associate Director of Operations and Dispatch Products for Collins Aerospace. During our discussion, we explored the origins of flight tracking and how modern solutions can be tools capable of helping airlines make better, more informed operational decisions.
UAV and UTM
First-of-its-kind flight trials integrate uncrewed aircraft into controlled airspace- A partnership of aviation leaders has successfully completed a first-of-its-kind trial, including a series of test flights aimed at evaluating the operational integration of uncrewed aircraft flying beyond visual line of sight into controlled airspace. The successful completion of these trial test flights in New Zealand demonstrates that safe, uncrewed flight operations are possible, today, in controlled airspace among other piloted aircraft.
Transport Canada reports official approval for BVLOS flights on its DroneCare route - Unmanned airspace- Drone Delivery Canada reports official approval for Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight flights in tandem with the transportation of dangerous goods for its DroneCare route, marking a significant milestone in the development of its drone delivery capabilities in the healthcare market segment, says the press release.
