3 important benefits from hybrid communications at Dubai Airport

Dubai International airport (DXB) is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. Their use of advanced hybrid communications has brought them three important benefits.

Supporting fifty million passengers, 6,000 flights and a vast amount of baggage every week is a huge task for Dubai airport staff. Everyone from the baggage handlers on the ground to the air traffic controllers monitoring the skies needs reliable group communications to ensure everything runs smoothly.

But what are the three key benefits Dubai airport has gained from using advanced digital communications?

Several organizations and teams at Dubai International, from people working at the gate to the fire and rescue teams, use Nedaa’s* TETRA network. One of these important teams is Trolley Management.

*Nedaa is Airbus customer in Dubai, and the provider of TETRA networks and Airbus Secure Land Communications solutions for several governmental and non-governmental entities.

Jassim Mohammad, team leader for Trolley Management, explains the team’s responsibilities: “We provide a service to customers, including baggage trolleys, across all three terminals, both arrivals and departures.” This poses immense challenges for the group because of the huge size of the area to be covered.

The Trolley Management team plays an important part in the smooth running of the Dubai airport. The team has gained three important benefits from using hybrid TETRA and 4G/5G communications:

1. The whole team can be reached at once

With three terminals, the airport is spread over an area of 7,200 acres (2,900 ha). This poses some challenges, such as how to provide the right information to the right people, at the right time – securely and efficiently.

Using TETRA radio communications cuts the time needed to reach the baggage trolley service team and has improved communication between team members. Says Jassim Mohammad: “Before, we had to call staff on their personal mobile phones individually, which wasted a lot of time. Now, the team members have TETRA radios and we can broadcast the message to the whole team at once. We no longer have to call 40 members one-by-one.”

2. Communications continue uninterrupted

Dubai International airport deals with around 400,000 flight movements (take-offs or landings) each year, which is over 1,000 movements per day.

Aircraft movements will sometimes cause mobile signals to degrade. Thanks to uninterrupted TETRA radio communications, the team can continue their work without any issues.

3. Photos and videos help resolve issues

The baggage trolley team also sees the benefits of Tactilon Dabat, hybrid TETRA+broadband devices which they can use to share the current situation within the team using photos or even video. The Duty Manager – or anyone in the team – can understand the situation from photos or video much more easily than from a spoken explanation.

“It will be so helpful to have this feature on the staff smartphone,” says Jassim Mohammad. “With Tactilon Dabat devices, we can improve our communication level and can go one or two steps higher, by having current updates, photos and videos shared by all the team members.”

See for yourself – on this video, Jassim Mohammad explains the benefits they’ve gained from using hybrid communications.

Learn more about this airport case – see these videos:

• What does an airport team leader think of hybrid communications?
• How does Dubai airport ensure smooth airport operations?
• How can professional communications benefit airport rescue services?

Do you want to know more about hybrid communications and solutions? Take a look at the ultimate guide to hybrid solutions!

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