Thales and Beijing EasySky Technology Ltd. (BEST), a joint venture between Thales and the Civil Aviation Air Traffic Control Technology & Equipment Development Co. Ltd., have been selected by North China Air Traffic Management Bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, to automate the terminal maneuvering area, area control airspace and operations at Beijing Capital International Airport and the new Beijing Daxing International Airport.

With air traffic in China forecasted to rise from 440 million passengers now to 1.2 billion by 2034, China is embarking on airport construction and efficiency improvements to accommodate the increase. The deployment of Thales TopSky-ATC air traffic automation system will support this effort through seamless integration with the Beijing Area Control Center.

The airports’ and airspace traffic flows will be sequenced and balanced using Thales’s MAESTRO arrival and departure management system. MAESTRO will provide seamless integration between area control, approach control and tower systems – so all controllers will share the same sequence information and can manage airport configuration changes collaboratively, including Advanced Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) control times.

This latest modernization project is scheduled for completion in 2019. The project is an extension of Thales’s commitment to partnering with the ATMB to create China’s next-generation Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. China uses Thales ATC systems to manage 60% of the country's air traffic.