Thales to modernise Madeira Airport

Thales Portugal has signed two new contracts with the Madeira Airports Authority (Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea da Madeira – ANAM) to supply the passenger information system and upgrade Madeira Airport’s data centre using virtualisation and cloud computing technologies.

The new passenger information system that will be implemented at Madeira Airport by the end of the present year is an interactive solution incorporating digital public information, digital signage, digital billboard and wayfinder functions. Interactive kiosks will provide additional support to passengers, with internet access and new displays to deliver updated information on incoming and departing flights.

The Thales cloud computing solution that will be implemented at Madeira Airport will provide access to a broad set of functionalities through virtual desktops. All the applications needed for the safe, secure and efficient operation of airport services will be available across a virtualised information infrastructure, with virtual servers and storage solutions.

The increased efficiencies will improve the passenger experience and make better use of computing power, cutting the airport’s operating costs and significantly reducing its carbon footprint by optimising energy consumption.

The solution will benefit from Thales’s proven expertise in managing data centres (Elancourt, Toulouse, Valence and Cholet in France) and its range of cloud computing security products. Thales is certified to ISO/IEC 20000, the international IT standard of excellence and best practice in IT management.

Earlier this year, Thales completed two other projects in Portugal as part of the Madeira airports modernisation programme:

• Upgrade of the data network to increase capacity and enhance resilience and security. This project involved convergence of services such as voice, data and CCTV into a single network infrastructure.
• Upgrade of the voice network to incorporate voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology and broadcast messages automatically at Madeira (Funchal) and Porto Santo airports.

The different projects developed for ANAM demonstrate the capabilities and expertise of Thales Portugal in the airports domain, which draw on a wide range of infrastructure security technologies (data networks, telephony and cloud computing) and solutions such as interactive information systems to enhance the passenger experience.

The Group has developed a wide range of systems to efficiently automate security processes and improve the mobility and connectivity of security staff. These systems combine Thales’s own expertise and solutions, such as cloud-ready communication infrastructures, fully distributed TETRA networks, advanced video surveillance and other dedicated functions, with industry-leading subsystems developed by Thales partners.