Dmitry Medvedev Inaugurates New Consolidated ACC in Novosibirsk via Teleconference

On 16 October 2019, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev paid a working visit to Yekaterinburg, where he observed the operations of Yekaterinburg consolidated ACC of State ATM Corporation’s Ural Air Navigation branch, as well as Ural Aeronautical Search and Rescue centre. The inauguration of the new Novosibirsk consolidated ACC was held via teleconference during the visit.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov, Minister of Transport Evgeny Ditrich, Head of the Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko, Sverdlovsk Region Governor Evgeny Kuyvashev, State ATM Corporation Director General Igor Moiseenko, and other officials, remotely ordered the transfer of responsibility for air traffic control from a number of Siberian area control centres to Novosibirsk consolidated ACC. Prior to that, State ATM Corporation’s West Siberia branch director Evgeny Ospishchev, who was in Novosibirsk, reported to the Russian head of government the readiness of Novosibirsk consolidated ACC to assume such responsibility.

The deployment of Novosibirsk consolidated ACC will significantly increase airspace capacity in the region, reducing operating costs of air navigation services, centralizing air traffic management functions and thus enhancing the transit potential of Russia’s airspace.

Background:

Novosibirsk consolidated ACC

The reconstruction and technical upgrade of Novosibirsk consolidated area control centre, including the installation of an automated air traffic management system, took place from September 2016 until May 2019.

The new ACC is equipped with a cutting-edge Russian-manufactured automated air traffic management system including: Alpha-5 ATC automation system, Planeta airspace management system, a radio communication and radar data registration system, and a data protection system. Air traffic services are provided by 9 sectors, whose number may be increased up to 12. The automated system receives information from 27 radars, 9 automated direction finders; radio communication with aircraft is enabled by 14 tranceiving centres distributed evenly all over the area of responsibility.

Novosibirsk consolidated ACC provides air traffic services above six territories of the Siberian Federal district: Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Omsk, and Kemerovo regions, as well as Altai Krai and the Altai Republic.

The new consolidated ACC has assumed responsibility for air traffic control formerly provided by 6 area and auxiliary ATS centres: Omsk, Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Barnaul, Novy Vasyugan, and Kolpashevo.

The reconstruction and technical upgrade of Novosibirsk centre were fully funded by State ATM Corporation’s extra-budgetary resources.

The total area of airspace controlled by Novosibirsk consolidated ACC is about 1 million square kilometres. The area of responsibility is crossed by 96 ATS routes with a total length over 55,000 kilometres, 80% of which are international. Trans-Asian routes connecting Europe with South-East Asia account for major air traffic flows.

The area of responsibility of the Novosibirsk centre borders on other consolidated ACCs of the Russian Federation: Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Krasnoyarsk; as well as area control centres of Kazakhstan, China, and Mongolia.

The recent years have seen a growth in air traffic intensity within the area of responsibility of State ATM Corporation’s Western Siberia Air Navigation branch. The total amount of traffic handled in 2018 was 658,019 flights, which represents an increase of 8% against 2017 and 18.4% against 2016. The traffic figures continue to grow; therefore, the implementation of Novosibirsk consolidated ACC has been necessary and timely.

The reconstructed building of Novosibirsk consolidated ACC complies with all regulatory requirements of the Russian Federation and is equipped with a state-of-the-art Russian-manufactured air traffic management system. The implementation of Novosibirsk consolidated ACC was preceded by component tests as well as acceptance trials of the ATM automation system technological facilities, including:

- Alpha-5 ATC automation system;

- Granit recording and playback system;

- Metronom precise timing system;

- Pult-A series consoles;

- Megaphone voice communication switching system;

- Uninterruptible power supply units.

Yekaterinburg consolidated ACC

Yekaterinburg consolidated ACC, implemented in December 2018, is intended to provide air navigation services to airspace users above the territories of the Udmurt Republic, Perm Krai, as well as Sverdlovslk, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, and Kirov regions.

The area of responsibility includes domestic and international airways and RNAV routes. Yekaterinburg consolidated ACC controls the Trans-Asian overflight route system connecting Europe’s airports with Japan, China, and Korea, and a Cross-Polar route connecting Asian airports with the U.S. and Canada. Over 40% of flights handled by Ural Air Navigation branch are operated by foreign airlines.