With the installation a more powerful version of its Universal Flight Information System (UFIS®), UFIS Airport Solutions (UFIS-AS) made a major contribution to allow Polish Airports State Enterprise (PPL) to open the new terminal at Frederic Chopin International Airport, Warsaw in March 2008. This was part of the airport’s major expansion program enabling it to handle the continual growth of passenger traffic since Poland’s entry into the European Union.
The expansion of the UFIS installation at Warsaw was completed in three phases. The first phase involved the installation of new server hardware, an upgrade of the Oracle® database and the migration of the UFIS installation from Unixware to Solaris 9 from Sun Microsystems.
The second phase included an upgrade to the most recent version of the UFIS package (version 4.5). The upgrade was carried out without affecting airport operations. In addition to increased functionality that will assist the operations staff, the new system has been tuned to provide higher performance and greater flexibility in handling the added volume of traffic that is now expected with the new terminal opening.
The final phase was the implementation of interfaces to third-party systems installed in the new terminal including the baggage handling system, the docking guidance system, and the building automation system.
A remarkable achievement during the last two phases was the smooth extension of the UFIS Flight Information Display System (FIDS). Without disturbing the live operation of Terminal 1 hundreds of new flight information displays and large scale information boards were installed and configured in Terminal 2. UFIS-AS was able to easily configure these new displays to match PPL’s requirements for the new terminal.
“As a world leader in airport IT services, UFIS-AS once again proved to be a reliable and experienced partner,” said Robert Zgieb, IT Solutions and Systems Integration Department Manager for PPL. “They provided a tailored solution to meet the challenges Warsaw Airport are facing today in its process of continuous growth and development.”
With the new terminal open for operations, passengers in Terminal 2 will receive up-to-the-minute information about boarding times, delays, gate changes, and baggage belt assignments through the UFIS FIDS module. Passengers transferring between terminals will also be assisted since information on flights departing from Terminal 1 will also be shown at appropriate locations in Terminal 2 and vice versa.
“I am proud of the successful completion of the project at Warsaw Airport and the professionalism of our team which combined youth and experience,” said UFIS-AS’s President and CEO Anders Sagadin. “Our on-going cooperation with PPL, with their experienced UFIS users assisting our team, contributed greatly to the success of this project.”