Seville to become the world’s first airport with all autonomous and remotely controlled and operated PBBs.
Barcelona, 2nd March 2021 – ADELTE, a Spanish engineering group based in Barcelona and the world leading specialist in the design and manufacture of Airport and Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (PBBs) has recently been contracted by the Spanish airports operator AENA to implement ARCOS® an innovative and state-of-the-art Remote Control Operating System developed by ADELTE which allows PBBs to be remotely operated from the airport’s technical control room and manoeuvred autonomously to and from all types of commercial aircraft.
ARCOS® is part of a contract through which ADELTE will replace all current boarding systems and design, manufacture and install six (6) PBBs, six (6) Pre-conditioned Air Units (PCAs), six (6) Ground Power Units (GPUs) and fourteen (14) Visual Docking Guidance Systems (VDGS) at Seville Airport.
ARCOS® has been developed by ADELTE’s engineers over the past five years. The objective of the system is to efficiently reduce operating times and accurately dock and undock PBBs in all weather conditions, whilst at the same time reducing the airport’s OpEx by centralizing PBB operations.
In 2020, the system was successfully tested with four airlines at Seville Airport and with PBBs that were not designed and manufactured by ADELTE, proving that the system can be implemented with any PBB made by any Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Furthermore, Bureau Veritas has certified ARCOS® as compliant with Directive 2006/42/EC on Machinery, making ARCOS® a secure system with all the necessary ISO guarantees to operate PBBs remotely.
The initiative developed with ADELTE and the innovation projects in which AENA is currently working, constitute an emerging asset for the Spanish airport operator, whose objective is to promote the implementation of technological solutions that make processes and services more efficient in the airport environment.
Patxi Artiz, Airport Business Unit Director at ADELTE commented: “ARCOS® is the solution that will mark a turning point in PBB handling and have an impact on airport operations around the world. ARCOS® stands for highly efficient procedures, significant cost savings and reduction in docking and undocking times which benefits both passengers and airport operators”.
