GeoEye Delivers the First ICAO Compliant Airport Mapping Database

As part of our ongoing effort to provide our customers with timely and accurate geospatial information and services, GeoEye recently signed an agreement with Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad’s Technical Services Division (MAHB) to provide the first commercial high-resolution Airport Mapping Database (AMDB) of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. This particular AMDB was created using color stereo imagery from GeoEye’s IKONOS satellite from which our AMDB GIS Services team then extracted the three-dimensional models of the airport, terrain and any flight safety obstacles. The end-product meets the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Area-2 and Area-3 reporting requirements and will be used for planning airport operations and improvements; and to help ensure adherence to aviation safety regulations.

GeoEye’s AMDB GIS Services has manufactured geospatial databases of airports since 2002 with over 3,000 databases delivered to our government, military and airline customers. Our AMDB serves two main purposes. First it is a highly accurate and detailed map of airport features. Second, the database contains elevation data of the local terrain and obstacles which is crucial information for airport planning activities. These databases are created using our in-track GeoStereo collections to extract 3D features in point, line or polygon formatas layers inside ESRI Geodatabases.Finally, this information is converted custom formats such as GML, Autocad or Microstation.

The ICAO is the UN Agency that regulates and coordinates air traffic across the globe. In order to help increase the frequency of air travel and to decrease the risk of accidents, the ICAO has mandated that all countries that are signatories to the ICAO – which is virtually every country in the world – must acquire geospatial models of their airports and the terrain/obstacles around those airports by 2015. GeoEye’s team of AMDB experts contributed to the technical standards used in this effort and we have the unique expertise to acquire the data ICAO requires. Since the ICAO and the European Agency EUROCONTROL revised these regulations in 2010, GeoEye is the first commercial company to provide geospatial data that complies with this new mandate. Our project in Malaysia is an example of many more currently under way by GeoEye’s AMDB GIS Services.

Please contact Brock McCarty at (720) 470-7988 or for more information on GeoEye’s AMDB GIS Services.

Jeffrey Stewart

Manger, Reseller Development

GeoEye

The three illustrations below show the Airport Mapping Database (AMDB) of the Kuala Lumpur airport, known locally as “Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur” (ICAO code = WMKK). It contains the standard 31 layers as defined in the RTCA DO-272B specification.