Unique in the world, the service is developed by the FAB through the Airspace Control Department.
DECEA – Telma Penteado – Review: Lieutenant Raphaela Martorano
Brazil has one of the largest helicopter fleets in the world, with more than 2,000 aircraft, according to data collected by the Brazilian Association of Helicopter Pilots (ABRAPHE) and the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC). The city of São Paulo alone registers an average of around 2,200 landings and take-offs every day.
The challenge of managing and controlling this specific air movement brought pioneering solutions of the highest complexity. Unique in the world, the HELICONTROL system, developed by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), through the Airspace Control Department (DECEA), is operated in the Congonhas Control Tower and guarantees the safe coexistence of planes and helicopters on approach to the airport, which is the second busiest in Brazil.
The helicopter control area at the São Paulo Control Tower was a solution created in 2004 by DECEA as an alternative to enable the growing number of helicopter operations in this part of the airspace. “The service was created based on the basic pillars of airspace control, which are fluidity and safety, with the aim of seeking harmonious coexistence between the circulation of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft at Congonhas airport,” says the head of the Air Traffic Management Subdivision (ATM) of the Southeast Regional Airspace Control Center (CRCEA-SE), Major Roberto Manoel Francisco Júnior.
Check out the video on how HELICONTROL works and discover the complexity of helicopter air traffic control in São Paulo.