Exclusive report on Dubai Airports' fog management

Gulf News

Gulf News Chief Reporter Sharmila Dhal brings you an exclusive lowdown on how the all-new Dubai Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) manages flights every time fog rolls in.

Transcript

00:00As temperatures fall and winter as we know it sets in, it also marks the beginning of

00:10the fog season in Dubai. For Dubai Airports here, this is perhaps the most challenging

00:16part of the year. As the world's busiest airport, which will welcome 100 million passengers

00:24very soon, the task of managing its ever-increasing airline traffic through dense blankets of

00:31fog can be all the more daunting. But like all things Dubai, Dubai Airports, too, has

00:39embraced the most sophisticated technology at its newly opened AOCC, or the Airport Operations

00:48Control Centre, to ensure flight disruptions are kept at a minimal. The fog season affects

00:56us through the winter months, usually starting late September, early October, through until

01:03usually around February time, which can be extensive. It can be thick fog and it can

01:07be very disruptive fog here at the airport, affecting the integrity of our operation.

01:13As an Airport Operations Control Centre, the AOCC, we work very closely with the meteorological

01:19services here in Dubai and in the UAE to make sure that we are getting the best information

01:24possible so that we can understand when fog is predicted and we can anticipate our response

01:30as far in advance as possible. We will usually know the day before. The fog will usually

01:35form in the early hours of the morning, 4am, 5am local time, which unfortunately coincides

01:40with one of our biggest peaks in terms of traffic at the airport in the early hours.

01:45When the fog is predicted, then we run through a number of protocols to make sure that our

01:50response is initiated. The AOCC will coordinate many of the activities. Once the protocols

01:58have been initiated, we will be speaking closely with the home carriers, Emirates and FlyDubai

02:03in particular, because of the volumes of traffic and passengers which they bring in and out

02:08of DXP. We are working with them to make adjustments to the schedule and very often

02:13we will find, usually we will find, that the fog that comes in the early hours will burn

02:18off a few hours after the sun has come up and usually will dissipate around early to

02:25mid-morning, 10am, depending on the intensity of that fog in the first place. So once the

02:31fog starts to form, then the kind of decisions that will have to be made are primarily on

02:38the arrival rates, the flow rates of traffic into and out of DXP. So DANS, our air navigation

02:45service provider, who manage the air traffic, provide the air traffic services here at DXP,

02:52they will make a decision on flow rates. So if the visibility reduces, if it reduces to

02:59a low level, then they will reduce the number of aircraft that can arrive and depart from

03:05DXP. And in that case, then the airlines have to be prepared to hold until the fog clears.

03:14If they haven't got the fuel to hold, then they could be in a situation where they have

03:17to divert those aircraft to other stations. In the UAE, primarily that would be down to

03:24DWC, down to Al Maktoum Airport. It could be other airports in the UAE or perhaps in

03:31the region, if necessary. Our primary focus is to, as an operations centre, is to ensure

03:38that the schedule for the different carriers flies as close to the plan as possible. Any

03:44type of disruption, particularly when fog is involved, will mean that it's very difficult

03:49to fly the schedule to plan. And if the schedule's not flown to plan, then there will be an impact

03:54on the passenger. So we're very mindful of that. We're very conscious that protecting

03:58the passenger's journey is a key focus for us at Dubai Airport. So what we will do is

04:04if a flight is delayed and a passenger misses a connection, we will work with the airlines

04:09closely so that we can protect those passengers. We can make sure that they are comfortable,

04:16that they are informed, that they know exactly how their journey will continue when there

04:22is a new flight for them, tickets are issued, bags are transferred, and we move them onwards

04:28in the most expeditious way and comfortable way possible. The airlines, they have, obviously

04:34the technology they have within their aircraft, they are able to land in almost zero visibility

04:41conditions. But when the visibility is very low, then in the interest of safety, that's

04:47when the air traffic control and service providers will reduce the flow rates, increase

04:54the separation between aircrafts. I think it's understandable for the passenger, for

04:58the customer, that when the visibility comes down, it's the safest thing to do to increase

05:04the separation between aircraft, despite the technology and the sophistication of the onboard

05:10systems on aircraft that can not only fly an approach very accurately, but can also

05:16detect the distance and proximity to other aircraft in very thick fog. It is safe, it's

05:23sensible, it's prudent to increase the separation nonetheless. As we've seen, fog management

05:31can be a daunting task. Surely in the days to come, we will be seeing a lot of fog in

05:37the headlines, but be rest assured, Dubai Airports has what it takes to manage the challenge.

05:45This is Sharmila Dal, Chief Reporter, Gulf News, from Dubai International.

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