MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

A new ATC building and a training center of the SAKAERONAVIGACIA Ltd of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, equipped in compliance with the highest modern technology standards was opened today at the Tbilisi International Airport. Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the First Vice Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Dimitry Kumsishvili, the Regional Director of the European and North Atlantic Office of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Luis Fonseca de Almeida, the EUROCONTROL Director General Eamonn Brennan, Director General of Spanish Company “INDRA, Gonzalo Gavin and high officials representing civil aviation sector and other state agencies attended the opening ceremony.

“The role of the SAKAERONAVIGACIA Ltd at this point is of outmost importance in terms of the further development of the country’s tourism and transit potential. The system that was introduced today has no analogue in the Transcaucasia region since it is a triple-protection mechanism. When talking about the transit, it is essential to take into account the air traffic that uses our air space – I can assure you that those flights generate significant income to our country,” – Dimitry Kumsishvili noted when evaluating the opening of the new ATC building and a training center.

Building a new ATC Center and providing its compliance with the modern standards was preconditioned by the unprecedented growth of air traffic in the airspace of Georgia. In 2017, the occupancy of the Georgian airspace was increased by 13% compared to the previous year and according to the forecast of the EUROCONTROL, the growth will be maintained in the following years as well. A new ATC of modern standards will significantly increase the flight safety and facilitate the further development of the ATC industry in Georgia.

By introducing the new system by INDRA, the SAKAERONAVIGACIA Ltd will have the opportunity to change the existing two-sector level to three-sector level, which will further increase the capacity of the airspace of Georgia. Activating of so called upper sector, where the aircrafts of transit or distant routes are flying, will also become possible, which is another innovation for the Georgian aviation. New system by INDRA will also allow the SAKAERONAVIGACIA Ltd to decrease the interval between the airplanes from 10 to 5 miles in air while the interval in the runway zone will be decrease to 2.5-3 miles.

The new ATC Center is equipped with the modern system manufactured by the Spanish Company INDRA while the S.p.A. sound system is by the Italian Company S.I.T.T.I. These systems will make the ATC work much more comfortable and effective. The new system of INDRA has dual protection, which gets activated in seconds while the process of activation is absolutely imperceptible for the air traffic controllers. The new system by INDRA has third additional protection - an independent system installed in Kutaisi, which completely excludes delay in the working process.

New training center is equipped with the modern 3D ATC simulator by INDRA, which allows the air traffic controllers to enjoy practical trainings.

The INDRA is one of the leading companies in the industry of the Air Traffic Management and Navigation Systems and its production is used by up to 150 countries around the world. INDRA has a 30-year experience in the aviation industry, and today it is recognized as the company that produces one of the safest and most technologically advanced navigation systems in the world.

Dimitry Kumsishvili said that the total investment introduced in the project equals to 32 million GEL. “It is very important that we have opened a training center today. Now we have a 3D simulator that enables us to prepare the air traffic controllers which we spent significant resources on. At the same time, we will be able to make this training center of regional importance and bring the air traffic controllers from other countries to improve their qualification and knowledge,” – the First Vice Prime Minister noted.