New Comprehensive ATM System Supplied by FREQUENTIS is Operational in the Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) provides Airports operation and Air Navigation Services in Cayman Islands. CIAA was faced with the challenge of having to replace its aging Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network (AFTN), Flight Plan Management and ATIS systems to new and proven technology.

Implementation in less than four months
The Frequentis systems, installed at the Owen Roberts International Airport, were implemented with a very tight schedule of less than four months from contract signature date until the operational date. The Frequentis applications are hosted on redundant servers, operate in a virtual environment, and consist of the following systems:

• smartMessenger - provides the messaging infrastructure for all the airports in Cayman and interface to the FAA NADIN system for the international traffic. smartMessenger is currently connected to the FAA system through the MEVA II network. The link to the FAA will be upgraded to AMHS as soon as the MEVA III network is operational.
• smartFPMS - assists the Air Traffic Controllers and AIS Officers in effectively managing the traffic flow in Cayman. smartFPMS manages the complete life cycle of the flights plans including flight strip management. smartFPMS also produces a monthly report of all the flight movements which is used by the CIAA’s billing system to automate the production of the invoices to its customers.
• smartATIS - broadcasts recorded weather information for the Owen Roberts International Airport in Cayman Islands.

The project goals could only be achieved by using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products which have already been successfully deployed by Frequentis at other customer locations around the world. The project required little customisation to fully comply with CIAA’s requirements. The approach of using Frequentis COTS software products enables CIAA to take advantage of future product evolution.

Albert Anderson, CEO of CIAA said ”The decision to choose Frequentis was based on the excellent experience that our Air Navigation Services division had gained with the Frequentis Voice Communication System and Frequentis’ ability to provide a solution for all three systems. The Frequentis team worked very hard with our staff and the supplier of our billing application to implement the system in a timely and cost effective manner.”