Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Central Control Room

Schiphol Group is an airport operator whose primary activity is to create and develop AirportCities. The Group aims to develop into a leading international airport operator. In addition to being an efficient multifunctional hub for air, rail and road transportation, an AirportCity is a location that offers 24-hour service to passengers, staff and visitors and to international companies (airlines, distribution and logistics companies, and service providers) through shops, catering facilities, information and communications technology (ICT), business units, conference rooms, and recreational facilities.

Schiphol Group’s showcase is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, where development and actualisation of the AirportCity concept are the most advanced. The experience and expertise acquired here are used to apply the concept to other international airports. In addition to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Schiphol Group operates Rotterdam Airport, owns Lelystad Airport and holds 51% of the shares in Eindhoven Airport. The Group is also active internationally, including Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and Brisbane Airport in Australia. Schiphol Group employs around 2,000 people.

Integration of Control Rooms

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has several control rooms responsible for monitoring and control of important processes such as passenger flow in the Terminal, parking and traffic flow on the airport premises and safety and security processes, monitoring and control of technical equipment, crisis handling, etc. There are several separate control rooms that are equipped with intercom and video.

Schiphol’s goal is to integrate a number of these control rooms into one control centre containing 9 operator seats.

In 1996 and 1998 Ferranti Computer Systems already supplied a CSS system (Centraal Signaliseringssysteem) and an MPS system (Meldingsregistratie en Procedurebeheersysteem) which also form part of systems integration.

In the following phase of the project Ferranti Computer Systems will supply a system that integrates the CSS & MPS systems including 400 intercoms, 800 cameras and another SCADA application.

With this system Amsterdam Airport Schiphol can monitor and control over 40.000 incidents and systems. If an incident occurs (e.g. if an emergency button is pressed in an elevator), an alarm message is received by the control centre. Every object type (elevator, intercom, silent alarm, fire detection, …), has a dedicated procedure. The operator receiving the alarm will automatically start the relevant procedure. These procedures detail the actions to be taken (switch on intercom, select CCTV channel, open gate, call police, …). Advanced reporting facilities are incorporated in the system.