El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Bogotá, Columbia, has partnered with SITA to become the first air transport hub in Latin America to adopt Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM). The airport will leverage SITA’s Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) modules to minimise disruptions and improve runway and air traffic flow management through increased stakeholder collaboration.
Tomás Aragón, COO, Operador Aeroportuaria Internacional (OPAIN), which operates the airport, commented: “El Dorado International Airport is a busy airport serving as the main gateway to Colombia. With traffic levels almost back to our pre-pandemic levels, we’ve selected SITA’s airport technologies to improve the efficiency of our operations and step up our emission reduction efforts. Minimizing operational disruptions helps ensure we deliver the best possible airport customer experience.”
With airports such as El Dorado under increasing strain to keep up with capacity demand, fluctuations in departure and arrival times at one hub often have a knock-on effect on the operations of airlines at other airports. By optimising airside operations and facilitating greater collaboration and cooperation among the different partners and service providers airports can manage disruptions more effectively while reducing the environmental impacts of their operations.
In 2016, a study by EUROCONTROL of 17 European airports using A-CDM found that the annual total savings of 102,700 tonnes of CO2 , over 202 million minutes of taxiing time and €22.6 million in fuel were made. In addition, Waypoint’s 2050 report identifies the acceleration of the full implementation of A-CDM to improve airport-based operations as one of the practical emission reduction opportunities possible this decade, supporting the aviation sector’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
El Dorado will utilise a Pre-Departure Sequencing (PDS) tool from SITA’s CDM solution to optimise throughput of aircraft arriving at the runway prior to departure, which will help prevent unnecessary wait times with running engines and subsequently reduce fuel burn, noise pollution and carbon emissions.
OPAIN has signed a six-year contract to deploy SITA’s modules of CDM after completing another project to upgrade its airport management system. The CDM will be implemented in time for the airport’s busy summer travel season in 2023. Referencing the collaboration, Matthys Serfontein, SITA President, Americas said: “It’s a win-win situation for El Dorado International Airport and its partners because increased collaboration will deliver substantial cost and carbon savings. And, improved punctuality is great news for passengers too.”
