Work is underway to install specially designed Cavotec Pre-Conditioned Air (PCA) systems for Dubai International Airport’s Concourse C upgrade that will rapidly cool wide-bodied aircraft up to the largest aircraft, Airbus A380 – even in hot and humid conditions common to Dubai – and thereby enhance passenger comfort and operational efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.
Our long-standing presence in Dubai provides our engineers with detailed knowledge and extensive experience of engineering parameters dictated by local – and highly variable – ambient conditions, including sandstorms, early morning humidity, and dry, hot air towards the middle of the day.
A key challenge of this project was to deliver a PCA system in the absence of our E3 Gate solution. E3 Gate enables users to integrate the provision of a full range of utility services via in-ground pits close to the parking line. Due to customer technical requirements, the state-of-the-art E3 Gate system was not used for this project, (although it has been installed elsewhere in Dubai Airport). Instead, for this project, we developed a unique turn-key solution ideally suited to maximise performance in Dubai: the PDX120i (PCA), and engineered the system to distribute air to the aircraft connection points.
The PDX120i units, which are in the process of being installed at a number of Concourse C gates, maximise the rate at which aircraft are cooled. This ensures that passengers enjoy a comfortable ambient temperature with reduced humidity, even at the peak of summer.
Meeting technical requirements for cooling the aircraft in Dubai is a difficult task but working closely with Dubai Airport has enabled Cavotec to master the engineering parameters related to the challenging local ambient conditions. Local environmental conditions are just a few of the engineering parameters we incorporated in our design criteria for this unique turn-key solution.
The gates are expected to be commissioned by the end of the year.
“Cavotec is always at the forefront of innovative solutions, and Dubai Airport is already using its services at Terminal 1 - Concourse 4, Terminal 3 - concourses 2 and 3, the EXPO Remote Apron, and Terminal 2 remote aprons of Dubai International Airports. Cavotec has been always the preferred partner of Dubai Airports as PCA technology plays a pivotal role in cooling aircraft in hot ambient conditions common to Dubai,” says Siva Anand, Cavotec Global Business Development Director, Airport Systems.
