Hostile rebels with missile launchers are watching every flight that risks landing at Baghdad International Airport. But the struggle towards peace continues, and AIB member ND SatCom has been chosen by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to implement a satellite-based air traffic control network for Iraqi airspace as part of the reconstruction process.
The ATC network, consisting of six satellite ground stations, will enable IATA to re-open the airspace, which has been closed down for more than 12 years, to civil air traffic.
The ATC network will be imbedded in the “Air Safety Programme” in which neighbouring countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Syria are already participating. Next to the North Atlantic route, the routes to the Middle East, India and South East Asia are amongst the busiest in the world.