(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles has signed an agreement with the German airport and consultancy services company ATRiCS Advanced Traffic Solutions as part of the modernisation process of its air navigation services. 

The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) said on Wednesday that the agreement was signed by its chief executive, Garry Albert, on the sidelines of the World Air Traffic Management congress in Madrid, Spain.

“We are going to implement an ATM (Air Traffic Management) modernisation programme that will improve the safety and efficiency throughout our operations, enable us to provide better services to our airline customers and cater for future growth,” said Albert.

The chief executive added that “there has been a significant increase in air traffic movements in and out of the Seychelles International Airport and FIR (Flight Information Region) in recent years. In 2013, we handled around 47,963 flights per year whereas in 2018, 63,190 flights were handled per year. All indication shows that the traffic movement will continue to grow and we aim to be ready.”

Through the agreement, Seychelles and ATRiCS will cooperate on a world-leading trajectory-based ATM automation system for tower and approach control services, as well as remote tower optical systems for remotely operated aerodrome control services within the Seychelles flight information region.  

ATRiCS’ chief executive, Wolfgang Hatzack, said his company feels very honoured to collaborate with SCAA and “looks forward to joining forces for delivering a fully integrated and highly automated ATM system for area control, approach and tower.”

He added that “SCAA and ATRiCS share the same vision of the transformation the ATM market will be undergoing.”

ATRiCS was set up in 2001 and its products are used all over the world, wherever benchmarks are being set in the fields of modern integrated controller working positions, tower automation and taxi operations management.

SCAA’s current Air Traffic Management system have several limitations impeding the implementation of a modern performance based procedures. It is therefore important that the Authority modernises the existing one and introduce surveillance to eliminate the limitations so as not to be left behind regionally and globally.

The project will also enhance safety, increase airspace capacity, improve flight efficiency and minimise the adverse environment effects in the airspace of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority was established in 2005 as an administrative and financial body corporate. It provides services, facilities and regulation of civil aviation activities in Seychelles in accordance with national and international standards.