Doing more with fewer people and less equipment
Whereas large airports have a greater distribution of functions with individual functionalities per system, regional airports have to do more with fewer people and less equipment. So the system has to assist with everything, things like tower frequency, approach frequency and crash alarms. Regional airports are often connected by phone to other small airports nearby. Everything is arranged much more locally and manually, without the automation that is present at large airports.
As a regional airport, it is difficult to determine what equipment you need. A lot is asked of the engineers present, who have to know where the system stands at the time. Once every 15 years it needs to be replaced, and in the meantime it also needs to be checked to see if the configuration is still up to date. Therefore, when choosing systems and mapping the system status, more guidance is needed from the providers of these systems. Providers can keep engineers well informed about the latest state of the art in the technical field by giving demonstrations and holding discussions, in which the right advice is given. In principle, in such cases, the latest knowledge resides with the supplier and not internally at the airport itself, as is the case at large airports. Smaller airports also exchange a lot of knowledge among themselves with other small airports because they face the same challenges.
As a regional airport, will you keep working analog or will you go digital?
As a rule, smaller airports still work mainly with analog equipment. The question is whether to opt for analog systems again when renewing, or to switch to digital equipment. One option is to replace the analog system in parts with digital variants. It is also possible to choose new analog equipment, but then variants that are prepared for digital operation. In such a case, a provider can propose analog equipment with expandability to digital, in a native way. So not with converters that have to be applied afterwards. Scalability is very important here: that is why a regional airport should have its growth ambitions clearly in mind.
When growth occurs, there comes a time when you have to split functions, just like at a large airport. Scaling up involves costs, but a good supplier can help control these costs. This can be done, for example, by supplying equipment prepared for scaling up, just like analog systems prepared for digital work. In practice, you then pay for what you are using at the time and in the extra slots that are present you can simply insert extra cards when scaling up. So this means a one-time purchase of systems, which then dynamically grow with you at minimal cost. Only minor hardware expansions need to take place and additional licenses need to be purchased.
The ideal voice communication system starts with good communication with the supplier
It is important to have short lines of communication with your vendor and receive proper support and service. Installation and maintenance of equipment should be easy to do, and if questions arise, help should be provided immediately by the supplier. Furthermore, regional airports have less redundancy than large airports, but regulations must be met. At large airports, there is a main system, a second main system, an emergency system and a "last resort" system. At regional airports, this is usually a main system, an emergency system and a "last resort" system. At very small airports, this is often a main system and a 'last resort' system.
Very important is the liability: how does a regional airport determine the quality of the equipment provided? This can be done by requiring a minimum availability and ask the supplier to come up with proof, in the form of real data. The airport then chooses components that guarantee high availability.
More cooperation among regional airports
It is a trend among small airports to cooperate more and more among themselves. Remote towers, which do their work centrally, are being used. Sometimes an entire tower is digitally relocatable, resulting in an unmanned airport, where only the radio is physically present. The people there, however, work remotely. Such installations require site knowledge from the vendor, support during installation and extensive testing periods. Site acceptance is very important at regional airports. Another important point is the proper training of the air traffic controllers who have to work with the new equipment; that is really a responsibility for the supplier. This can be both operator and engineer training. The similarities and differences between the old and new systems and functions must be properly shown and demonstrations of various scenarios must be given. In short: choosing the right equipment starts, above all, with choosing the right supplier.
