Colombian Airport Works with DTN to Install Weather Alerting System

First airport in South America to invest in cutting-edge wind shear alerting system

MINNEAPOLIS (March 3, 2021) – The El Dorado International Airport in Bogota, Colombia, recently named DTN, a leading data, analytics and technology company, as their weather partner for airport operations safety. The airport will be equipped with the MetConsole LiDAR Windshear Alerting System (LiWAS) from DTN, a state-of-the art solution to track dangerous winds that can threaten human and aircraft safety. The system will fully integrate with the airport’s existing automatic weather observation systems, resulting in one of the most complete meteorological solutions for an airport.

“For Aerocivil, El Dorado airport is not only a benchmark in Colombia, but also in all of South America,” said Alejandro Reina, General Coordinator of Systems for Aeronautical Meteorology. “The El Dorado airport must use the most avant-garde systems in order to offer maximum security and confidence to their passengers, scrupulously complying with International Civil Aviation Organization recommendations.”

The Bogota airport is the second largest airport in South America with over 35 million passengers depending on safe travels through the international hub each year. It is the first airport in South America to invest in this advanced system, which will deliver the most advanced weather analytics to support pilots and help them quickly detect and avoid volatile and dangerous winds.

“At DTN we are committed to providing our insights to support those who feed, fuel and protect our world,” said Marc Chesover, DTN President. “Aerocivil’s selection of DTN as a partner for the El Dorado International Airport signifies their commitment to ensuring access to the best weather technology available. With our advanced analytics and operational intelligence, pilots flying in and out of this airport will be able to quickly react to avoid dangerous winds on the runway and in the air.”

Windshear, classified as a sudden change in wind speed or direction, poses the greatest danger to aircraft during takeoff and landing where there is little time or room to maneuver. Typically, invisible to the human eye, windshear can develop in seconds, occur in horizontal or vertical directions and at high or low altitudes. The volatile winds develop in a variety of weather conditions, even in clear air and non-rainy weather, making it imperative to quickly be alerted to developing conditions.

LiWAS is built on MetConsole, an aviation weather suite by DTN and in use at more than 350 airports worldwide. To learn more about DTN aviation solutions, visit dtn.com.