Massport Pioneers Vessel-Monitoring System for Air Traffic Controllers
Airplanes travel low over Boston Harbor Channel south of Logan Airport to land on Runway 4R, passing through space shared with ocean-going and other tall vessels. This intersection requires continuous coordination of air traffic operations between flight arrivals per hour and tall vessels navigating the channel.
Concerned about possible interferences with air traffic, The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) sought to upgrade the technology air traffic controllers use to monitor local ship movements. They enlisted the technical expertise of the Volpe Center. Volpe's Dr. Thomas Seliga provided recommendations and technical assistance to Mr. Flavio Leo, manager of aviation planning at Massport. Massport built a project team with FAA and Pro-Sensing, Inc., and developed a solution.
The result is the installation of a high-resolution dual radar system, the first in the U.S. to present air traffic controllers with ship location and height information on a visual display. Massport recently announced the completion of the monitoring and reporting system, marking a major step forward in safety. Logan's Air Traffic Controllers now possess a greatly improved level of ship-traffic situational awareness in any level of daylight or poor visibility due to weather.