Indra puts into operation a new control tower at Muscat International Airport

Indra has put into operation a new control tower to provide services to the runway recently built by the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) at Muscat International Airport.

Both, the existing and the new towers, as well as the approach control center, now operate using latest generation Indra technology. The new systems allow an aircraft to take off or land every two minutes, thus tripling the airport's previous capacity and readying it to receive the new A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft.

The inaugural flight was witnessed by local authorities in December, thus marking the opening of the new control tower and runway, which measures 4 km. in length and 60 meters in width. In the presence of His Excellency Gen. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Nu’amani, Minister of Royal Office, and His Excellency Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Salim al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, an Airbus A330 landed with the support of Indra systems.

The expansion of Muscat International Airport represents a further milestone in the modernization of Omani air traffic control infrastructure, following the successful launch in June of Indra's new route control center, managing air traffic for the Sultanate's entire airspace and also located in the capital.

These improvements are part of the project for technology renewal entrusted to Indra by the Sultanate's Ministry of Transport and Communications. As well as said improvements, the company is working on updating systems at the country's second international airport, the Salalah Airport, as well as four other regional airports (Sohar, Ras Al Hadd, Duqum and Adam).

This ambitious project includes deployment of ground-to-air voice communication systems, a meteorological system to improve forecasting capabilities at the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation, as well as the deployment of two surface movement guidance and control systems at the Muscat and Salalah airports.

The company will also extend the aeronautical messaging system and digital distribution services for air traffic information, thus supporting coordination of international traffic.

Indra in the Arabian Gulf

Indra has grown rapidly in the region driven by major infrastructure modernization projects. For example, in 2014 Indra was awarded a significant contract to implement air defense systems in the Sultanate of Oman. Furthermore, Indra won air traffic control contracts in countries such as Jordan and Kuwait, while it has provided technology solutions to improve processes at government agencies and utilities firms in Saudi Arabia and Bahrein.

Indra, chaired by Javier Monzón, is one of the world's largest consultancy and technology multinationals, a leader in Europe and Latin America and is expanding in other emerging economies. Innovation is the cornerstone of its business, which is highly focussed on the customer and on sustainability. The multinational is one of the leaders in its sector in Europe in terms of investment in R&D and innovation, having invested more than €570M in the last three years. With sales approaching €3,000 million, it employs 43,000 professional and has customers in 138 countries.