CAAP installs new radar

MANILA, Philippines - A new P300-million radar covering the entire air space of the Philippines has been installed at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to replace an old system.

CAAP Director General Alfonso Cusi said the ALS 2000 would give air traffic controllers one million square miles of airspace to track down aircraft, compared with the old system’s limited radius of 250 nautical miles.

It will be integrated with four existing ground radar and 10 very high frequency radio equipment spread throughout Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, he added.

Acting Tranportation and Communications Secretary Anneli Lontoc said the new radar would enable air traffic controllers to guide aircraft better and have them fly closer to each other. It would meant savings on fuel which also translates to on-time arrivals, she added.

At the end of June, the ALS 2000, which has 12 radar consoles, will replace the obsolete, 15-year-old Eurocat, which has only four radar scopes.