The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) has signed a contract with a Canadian firm to supply the airport with new technical equipment to aid in landing of aircraft at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
The contract was signed on Tuesday, the Public Infrastructure Ministry said in a social media post.
The firm, IntelCan which is based in Montreal, Canada will be tasked with supplying and installing an upgraded Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) at CJIA by February, 2020.
The ILS is an approach which employs two radio signals that provides a pilot with vertical and horizontal guidance during the landing phase of an aircraft. The localiser (LOC) provides azimuth guidance, while the glideslope (GS) defines the correct vertical descent profile.
The Ministry in its post noted that the upgrade of the runway at the airport will now be boosted further with the modern ILS instrument to enhance the landing capability of aircraft which will also alleviate the need for diversions of aircraft in minimal weather conditions.
In addition to the ILS, the Aviation systems will also be boosted with a Digital Automatic Terminal Information System (D-ATIS) to provide pilots with real time information on weather and safety. As of now, this information is provided to pilots by the Air Traffic Controllers without automation.
In the future the D-ATIS will provide automatic data to the aircraft every hour. “Key features of D-ATIS are reduction of the workload for Air Traffic Controllers and Pilots, provision of timely, accurate, and updated information and reducing the likelihood of human error and runway congestion during the transmission of data to pilots and improving air safety and efficiency,” the Ministry outlined.
Furthermore, the Ministry said the acquisition of the new Digital Automatic Terminal Information System will align the GCAA with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Global Interoperability Plans, which aims to provide a seamless operation and experience for pilots operating in any part of the world.
