Latin America. An airport is a miniature city with significant challenges in terms of automation, intelligence and energy management. Schneider Electric has answers to make air terminals efficient in the medium and long term regardless of their size.
That planes land and take off safely and on time is the first step in determining that an airport is working properly and in turn, possibly, is the tip of the iceberg of a chain of processes that start much earlier, for example, when buying the travel ticket or when deciding to export a cargo.
Because the airport is not only the runway or the terminal, but the entire complex of automation of runway lights and proximity systems, meteorological systems, air traffic control, telecommunications and real-time information to pilots and control towers, access roads for both passengers and cargo, as well as the infrastructure that supports their management, without neglecting the demands that a modern building must offer in terms of automation, ventilation, access, security, comfort, air conditioners, CCTV closed circuit television systems, among others.
"An airport is a complex system that operates as a Service Company that requires for its correct operation quality and reliability in Electric Power, communications, networks and databases of high speed, highly reliable systems to guarantee safety and pleasant use in the facilities and aircraft that make it up for all users both passengers, airline staff, cargo personnel, parcels, etc., So, that its area of influence sees it as an icon of progress and not as a bottleneck, "says Fabio Cortés Segment Manager WWW & Infra Andean Clauster of Schneider Electric.
Figures landed
Colombia understands very well the role that airports have in improving productivity, national and international trade and, consequently, in the development of the country.
Investments of about 3.1 billion pesos by the government demonstrate the importance of airports in the entire national economic strategy.
According to the figures of the Presidency of the Republic, it is intended to improve the performance of 58 terminals in 26 departments of the country, including, for example, the terminals in Chocó, the Caribbean Coast, the Llanos, without neglecting ambitious infrastructure improvement projects for the airports with the highest traffic and economic impact of the large cities of the country and the region.
For example, the El Dorado airport in Bogotá, which is actually the second most important in South America for the number of passengers and cargo that are transported through it, according to the figures of the ACI (International Airport Council), since it went in just over 5 years from 14 million passengers to about 30 million and will continue to grow: The national government plans to create a second airport, El Dorado II, an alternative to the current one to complement the flow of cargo and passengers that this important terminal manages. This airport complex will be expected to transport more than 60 million passengers and cargo in Bogotá by 2041.
Long-term vision
Thus, air infrastructure works in the country must be planned with a view to fulfilling the task of allowing a greater flow of flights, passengers and cargo, efficiently and with low costs.
To achieve this, an airport must take advantage of the most advanced technologies that are available to project its growth and expansion in two, three, four or more decades, analyzing from the way users access the airport, including roads and public transport, the impact of organic growth on its environment and the maximum use of its land to optimize it and turn it into a cleaner organism in terms of use of fossil fuels and other elements that increase the carbon footprint.
Schneider Electric has the technology and knowledge necessary for the country's airports to grow sustainably and contribute to the development of their areas of influence efficiently. This is demonstrated by its participation in various airport projects around the world, covering large airports such as Geneva, Switzerland, Barcelona, among others.
