Customer Story: Simulating Lebanon skies

27 October 2022

TotalControl simulation technology is being used to train air traffic controllers in Beirut, Lebanon – enhancing the quality and speed of their training using photo-real 3D graphics that mimic the real world.

Customer’s challenge

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in Lebanon manages and operates Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, and is responsible for air traffic control operations throughout Lebanon’s airspace. To help drive tourism in Lebanon following decades of damage sustained during conflicts in the Middle East, DGCA needed to prioritise investment in modern and robust simulation technology at Beirut International Airport. They wanted a world-class simulator that met ICAO requirements for consistent, high quality training.

Key facts
Location:

Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, Lebanon

Sim types and positions:

3-position 320° LCD Tower simulator
2-position Area Control radar simulator
2-position Approach radar simulator
9 pseudo pilot/planner positions

Airways were honest and flexible and provided DGCA Lebanon with the best simulator. And as ICAO said, this simulator that Airways built will be the standard for any ICAO tenders in the future.
Kamal Nassereddine
Director of Air Navigation Services, DGCA Lebanon

Airway’s solution

Airways New Zealand was awarded the contract to supply and install tower and radar simulation technology and equipment for DGCA Lebanon in May 2018, following a competitive tender process.

Airways installed a 320° LCD Tower simulator, Approach radar simulator and Area Control radar simulator, as well as nine pseudo pilot/planner positions at DGCA’s ATC facilities at BeirutRafic Hariri International Airport in mid 2019. The result for DGCA Lebanon was a state-of-the-art simulation environment that’s easy to use, with photo-real 3D graphics for an immersive real-world experience.

The TotalControl simulators installed for DGCA imitate the full Lebanese air traffic control Flight Information Region, utilising Airways’ TrueView technology and photo-realistic 3D models for the tower simulator and emulation of the ATM system for the radar simulator.

Ease of use was an important function of TotalControl for DGCA — instructors can create and modify simulator exercises within a matter of minutes, and simulator pilots can easily manage complex simulated scenarios with minimal training. The flexible configuration of TotalControl was also a valuable feature. The operation and interfaces are the same across multiple configurations — single position, multi position, networked or stand-alone — so there’s no need for users to re-learn functionality when moving between configurations.