Exelis has deployed its new deicing management solution, Symphony DeiceVue, at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in the US.
Prior to the deployment of the new technology, tasks in the deicing process were manually carried out to improve the coordination, efficiency and reporting accuracy of deicing operations.
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In order to coordinate deicing operations between the airport, the airlines, the deice company (Swissport) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the company provides advanced automation through a contract with Swissport International.
With its new Symphony DeiceVue solution, Exelis automates tasks in the deicing process and reduces the need for manual data entry and verbal communications at the airline ramp towers.
Exelis commercial aviation solutions general manager Ted Carniol said: "For the first time, the airport, airlines, ground-handling providers and FAA have real-time visibility to each aircraft’s location and stage in the deicing process, delivering major efficiency improvements on the airport surface when winter weather conditions arise.
"Providing this critical network of situational awareness information on a shared display results in more efficient queues, less verbal communications and reduced delays."
During process exceptions, Exelis’ technology automates the collection of key milestone events in the deicing process and the association of data to specific aircraft and alerts users.
Powered by Exelis NextGen surveillance data, the Symphony suite of airport and airline operations solutions collect deicing fluid data, and identify and visually communicate requests for aircraft deicing through a shared display.
Start and stop times for aircraft deicing will also be set in the deice bays, and the flight, deicing fluid, on and off block times, weather and staff assignment data will be merged into a comprehensive reporting system.
