RIASS stands for Runway Incursion Alerting System Schiphol and it is a system to warn air traffic controllers in the tower of an imminent danger involving the un-authorized presence of an aircraft or vehicle on a take-off runway or landing runway already in use.
The system was developed by Air Traffic Control the Netherlands and the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) to further improve ground safety by reducing the incidence of runway incursions. It is a supplement to current technologies and procedures designed to prevent unsafe situations around runways.
RIASS has further improved safety at a time when air traffic volume is increasing, the runway system has been expanded, the number of crossings has increased, and the passage of aircraft and vehicles through the manoeuvring area has intensified. All take-off runways and landing runways at Schiphol are currently equipped with the RIASS system.
John Schaap, Director of Operations of Air Traffic Control the Netherlands: ‘Safety comes first in the services provided by Air Traffic Control the Netherlands, and the new system is an example of innovation and an active safety policy. The RIASS system has essentially given air traffic controllers an extra pair of eyes that allows them to monitor the moving aircraft and vehicles on the manoeuvring area even more closely.’
The higher the degree of reliability, the more effectively an alert system such as RIASS operates. The alerts must be accurate and must be issued at the appropriate time. Over the past year, RIASS has proved that it provides a high level of reliability and operates well regardless of visual conditions.
After developing a prototype in association with the National Aerospace Laboratory, Air Traffic Control the Netherlands adapted the system to Schiphol’s specific infrastructure.
The system is based on radar technology Air Traffic Control the Netherlands uses at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This means that air traffic controllers no longer have to rely on visual observation alone. RIASS alerts them to an impending danger by clearly showing the location on the display where the runway incursion is likely to occur and by issuing a verbal alert.
Of course the RIASS system suffers from the old problem of alerting the controllers instead of the pilots when something is wrong. This legacy approach has its limitations and in cases where the aircraft is on the wrong frequency or does not respond to controller instructions for some other reason (problems often seen in runway incursion incidents), it is almost totally useless. Having said this, of course any system that helps reduce runway incursions is an important step in the right direction. The main thing is that RIASS does recognize potentially dangerous situations and can generate a warning. Some day this warning will be sent to the cockpit also and that is when RIASS will be a mature system.