The surveillance of the national airspace is also carried out by an analogue control system, not digital, according to the words of Heraclides dos Santos, Head of the Luanda Control Tower.
Speaking to journalists in reference to the International Air Traffic Controller Day, which is marked today (October 20th), and despite this inconvenience and despite the constraints faced by the sector, the manager makes a positive assessment of air traffic control in Angola,
For Heraclides dos Santos, air traffic control in Angola is conventional, that is, without a radar, but in a coordinated, safe and expeditious manner for the aircraft.
"It is one of the oldest systems in use. The country never operated the migration to the digital system because of a radar” – he lamented.
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According to the air traffic controller, the work is carried out normally and safely, but because they use analog radar there are several day-to-day constraints, especially in the quality and speed of information between the tower and the pilots. Even so, Heraclides dos Santos says they are able to fulfill the mission's objectives, which essentially involves avoiding collisions between aircraft and managing traffic in a coordinated, safe and expeditious manner.
Still talking about the radar surveillance system, the head of the tower said that it transmits more security, as it allows 3D projections on a screen, which nowadays is essential for the exercise in the sector.
“Radar is an evolved control that allows for better monitoring of the aircraft flow within the frequency and with more spatial information”, he explained, noting that most countries use this system.
Regarding the horizon for the application of a radar, Heraclides dos Santos said it will not exist soon.
It was further informed that in Angola, the air traffic control service, through a control tower, is carried out only in three provinces, Luanda, Benguela (Catumbela), Huíla (Lubango) and Cabinda. The others report flight information and receive authorization from Luanda – the country's capital.
The National Air Navigation Company (ENNA), at national level, has 94 air traffic controllers under control, of which 76 in Luanda, among these 22 are women.
The right title would be “The National Air Traffic Control System is made by an analog controller, not a digital one”.