Switzerland: Zurich Airport, NAVBLUE team to increase capacity in low visibility

Zurich International is reporting that aircraft movements in low visibility conditions have increased 17% since Oct 2016. Working with Swiss air navigation services provider Skyguide and Airbus subsidiary NAVBLUE, the airport installed an instrument landing system elements localizer antenna supported by NAVBLUE’s ELISE technology. Skyguide’s head of tower/approach Siegfrid Ladenbauer said: “By combining cutting-edge technology with advanced operational concepts, we were able to mitigate the meteorological impact on flight punctuality [at Zurich airport].” Following the system’s installation, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation approved Zurich airport to reduce the separation of arriving aircraft in low visibility conditions to 5 nautical miles instead of 6 nautical miles. <br/>