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Fujitsu Upgrades Air-Traffic Information Control System for Narita International Airport

Fujitsu Limited

Tokyo, November 04, 2009

Fujitsu today announced that it recently worked with the Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA) to complete a full upgrade of the airport's NARC III(1) air-traffic information management system, which handles air-traffic information, including anticipated aircraft departures and arrivals. NAA is the organization in charge of airport operations at Narita International Airport.

In October 2009, NAA undertook a construction project to lengthen Runway B(2) from 2,180m to 2,500m. This is expected to increase the total number of flights the airport handles from 200,000 per year to 220,000 for the year beginning March 2010. The NARC III upgrade will enhance airport operations to better handle the increased traffic.

When the NAA migrated its NARC air-traffic information control system from a mainframe to open-system hardware, it eliminated the need for having to secure mainframe technicians thus resolving the problem of carrying over their know-how to the next generation. As well, improved functionality and administrative efficiency were reinforced by making the system easier to operate, enabling quick responses to air-traffic incidents caused by adverse weather conditions.

Background

The lengthening of Narita International Airport's runway and the addition of Haneda Airport's runway were to enhance competitiveness within the industry both domestically and internationally. The goal of the NAA, representing international airports of the Tokyo region, is to maintain efficient, high-quality airport operations. The lengthening of Runway B from 2,180m to 2,500m is expected to increase annual flights from 200,000 to 220,000 beginning March 2010.

About NARC

The apron at Narita Airport

Larger View (82 KB)

NARC is the core system used by the NAA to comprehensively and accurately track all scheduling, status and performance information for flights departing or arriving at Narita International Airport, and to assist in maintaining the airport's safe and smooth operations. It collects and comprehensively manages information from a variety of sources, including flight schedules sent by the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport; ATS data(3) sent by aircraft; and other aviation information from airlines. The information that NARC manages is used by the NAA as a facilities-usage log for aircraft, and as such is vital data for the NAA in assessing landing fees and aircraft parking fees, both major sources of its revenue.

NARC also connects to two indispensable subsystems used in managing aircrafts at the airport: the "ramp workstation," which assists with the movement of aircrafts on the apron(4) surrounding the terminal and the "spot allocation management system" which manages spots where aircraft park. Information is shared between these subsystems to support apron operations in general.

About the NARC III Upgrade

How NARC III relates to the air-traffic information system

Larger View (55 KB)

Fujitsu worked with the NAA to upgrade the capacity of their existing NARC II system to handle the increase in traffic, while at the same time migrating it from a mainframe to a NARC III open systems platform using Fujitsu's own SPARC Enterprise Unix server. This change addressed the problem of having to pass on the know-how of retiring mainframe technicians in order to maintain regular system operations, while also dramatically lowering operating and maintenance costs. The system also provides them with visual operator displays to help operators quickly respond to flight troubles caused by adverse weather conditions.

About the Ramp Workstation

Management of aircraft on the ground (moving between spots and runways) at Japanese airports is generally handled using the national air-traffic control radio system. However, at the country's only domestic apron area at Narita International Airport, in lieu of using national air-traffic control, aircraft movement is handled by the Ramp Controller, an NAA staff member communicating by aircraft radio to maintain the safety and efficiency of airport operations.

The ramp workstation digitizes the paper cards called "strip cards" that the ramp controller normally uses to manage the movements of aircraft on the ground, on the computer screen. The workstation links to other systems, but can function independently in the event of temporary suspension to maintain continuity of operations even if other systems are having trouble thus making the proprietary system unique to the NAA. Fujitsu also assisted the NAA in building this system.

The NAA aims for unwavering safety in the operations of a trusted airport. Safety is essential and takes priority over all. Furthermore, the NAA strives for the satisfaction of its airport users, and aims to provide a level of service that exceeds their expectations. In responding to the NAA's needs, Fujitsu has placed the reliability of the NARC III in the forefront and has built an easy-to-use system. Fujitsu will continue to provide ongoing support to the NAA's airport operations towards the future.


  • [1] NARC III

    The "Narita Airport Ramp Control System III" flight information control system

  • [2] Runway B

    The second runway at Narita International Airport built after Runway A (4,000m). Runway B opened in April 2002 with an interim length of 2,180m.

  • [3] ATS data

    Air Traffic Service data. Information such as flight-plan reports, positional notices, control notices, and emergency notices that members of the International Civil Aviation Organization are required to provide. NARC III connects to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport's air-traffic information system to receive this information.

  • [4] Apron

    The area of an airport where aircraft are parked in order for passengers to embark and disembark, cargo to be loaded, planes to be refueled, and inspections to be carried out. Located next to the runways and connected to the runways by taxiways, the apron is also known as the ramp.

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT-based business solutions for the global marketplace. With approximately 175,000 employees supporting customers in 70 countries, Fujitsu combines a worldwide corps of systems and services experts with highly reliable computing and communications products and advanced microelectronics to deliver added value to customers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.6 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. For more information, please see: www.fujitsu.com.

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All other company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information provided in this press release is accurate at time of publication and is subject to change without advance notice.

Date: 04 November, 2009
City: Tokyo
Company: Fujitsu Limited, , , , ,