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Finishing touches are being made to Cape Town International Airport. Come the World Cup influx, it will be reaching new heights regarding cutting-edge efficiency and a far enhanced passenger experience. At the centre of the upgrades and expansion is the new Central Terminal Building (CTB), which opened in November 2009.
EES, an ISO 9000 certified electrical engineering company, offering engineering, project management and business management services, is responsible for project managing the implementation of the Airport’s intelligent backbone. This includes all the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services at the new integrated terminal at the airport.
“Work on the CTB involved integrating the domestic and international terminals to streamline operations, boost efficiency, ensure the airport is better utilised and enhance travelers’ airport experience,” says Bradley Hemphill, Managing Director of EES.
The project involved integrating about 25 systems providing services to about 120 stakeholders, such as the airports authority, airlines, government agencies, retail tenants and passengers. “The new foundation of the entire airport is now the IT network making Cape Town International Airport an intelligent infrastructure in line with world-wide standards.”
Of key benefit to passengers are the new Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS), which are situated all over the terminal and located in more strategic positions, such as car parks.
Making check-in far more convenient for passengers, are the Common Use Self Service (CUSS) check-in terminals which are situated not only in the airport lobby, but also in parking areas.
Also contributing to passenger convenience are new air bridges that can be easily configured making passenger access to the aeroplane particularly easy. The air bridges also enhance overall airport efficiency in that previously they could only be used on domestic or international flights, but they are now more versatile as a few can serve both domestic and international flights.
A key challenge with this project was that the extensive upgrades had to take place in a live, continuously operating environment, with minimum disruption to all stakeholders, including of course passengers. |
