Radar Antenna Replacement At Airport

The Bermuda Airport Authority announced a project to replace the antenna used by the aircraft surveillance radar facility at the LF Wade International Airport.

A spokesperson said, “The Minister and the U.S. Acting Consul General, Vanja Vukota, met with Airport Authority and FAA teams at the airport radar site. The radar system is used by the FAA to provide air traffic control services within the Bermuda Terminal Control Area [TMA] from the FAA’s Air Route Traffic Control Center based on Long Island, New York.

“The Bermuda TMA covers an area within a 180 nautical mile radius of the LF Wade International Airport up to an altitude of 50,000 feet.”

Minister Furbert said he is “delighted to welcome the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] teams to Bermuda to oversee a planned replacement of the aircraft surveillance radar antenna.”

A spokesperson added, “A number of FAA assets, including the secondary surveillance radar, are located in Bermuda to support the terminal and enroute air traffic control service provided within the Bermuda TMA, and all assets are operated and maintained by the Bermuda Airport Authority’s Air Traffic Engineering [ATE] team in accordance with a Memorandum of Cooperation [MoC] between the Airport Authority and the US FAA.

“The ATE team works closely with the FAA on a routine basis to conduct regular preventative maintenance, system and equipment upgrades, and periodic repairs to the assets in order to ensure that availability of service is maximized. Under the MoC maintenance and repair costs are shared between the Airport Authority and the FAA.”

“The Consulate is proud to support the continued partnership between the FAA and the Bermuda Airport Authority. The installation of the new radar antenna will advance the airport’s flight operations.” said Acting U.S. Consul General Vanja Vukota.

A spokesperson added, “The surveillance radar system is expected to be offline from Monday 9th December until Monday 16th December 2024 to complete the maintenance work, during which time aircraft will use published non-radar operating procedures.

“Whilst the published flight procedures provide a safe contingency option to enable continued flight operations arriving and departing the LF Wade International Airport, an increased time separation between flights is required when compared to that required with radar separation, which may result in some delays to aircraft movements during busier air traffic periods. The antenna used by the aircraft surveillance radar has a typical working life of ten years.

Front Row [L-R]: Mark Bourne [BAA], Ian Mills [BAA], Lester Nelson [BAA CEO], Minister Furbert, US Acting Consul Vukota , Rob Arena [FAA], Steve Hay [FAA] Back Row [L-R]: Myles Prescott [FAA], Bruce Edney [BAA], Jesse Irwin [FAA], Don Mitchell [FAA], Robert Shattell [FAA]

#Airport

Category: All, News, technology