Study on the implementation of ILS CAT III Low Visibility Procedures

Following a European wide public procurement procedure, Warsaw airport commissioned airsight and its partners ARUP and Airbus to assess the feasibility of implementing ICAO CAT III precision approach and landing operations as well as take-off operations under low visibility conditions (LVTO).

The extensive study was divided into several work-packages. The main aims were to investigate the cost/benefit of achieving lower decision heights and to assess all main technical and operational aspects related to a CAT III operations upgrade.

After conducting a comprehensive compliance study of the airport infrastructure against ICAO requirements (incl. analysis of the obstacle situation), airsight carried out a safety assessment as required by the regulations for such major changes of operations. Infrastructural and operational changes required to accommodate CAT III operations were documented and prioritized to facilitate their implementation and to obtain approval from the appropriate authorities.

airsight further reviewed the current training of the operations and airside personnel and undertook an analysis of the potential cost and benefit of a future implementation of a GNSS Landing System (GLS).

In addition, a specific site study was conducted using analytical simulation to determine the required dimensions of the ILS critical and sensitive areas for CAT III operations, taking into account possible interferences caused by objects near the runway such as other aircraft, buildings and objects.

The overall results of this project will enable a further increase of safety and capacity at Warsaw Airport, the largest airport in Poland.