New weather station "raises civil aviation safety in the Azores to a new global level," says Artur Lima - Communication

Vice-Presidência do Governo Regional

On August 5, the Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government of the Azores and the Portuguese Air Force signed a cooperation agreement at Air Base No. 4 for the use of the new Automatic Weather Observation System (AWOS), acquired by the Vice-Presidency for civil aviation at Lajes Civil Airport.

The system, supplied by the Finnish company Vaisala, represented an investment of €733,300.00, co-financed by the Sustainable Operational Programme 2030. This station fully complies with the technical requirements of the ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organisation, ensuring the quality and reliability required globally for civil aviation operations.

The new infrastructure incorporates a network of state-of-the-art sensors, including ceilometers, ultrasonic anemometers, visibility and weather sensors, thunderstorm detectors, rain gauges and runway sensors. These instruments ensure highly reliable measurements, which are continuously transmitted to various observation and forecasting stations.

The implementation of the Avimet AWOS system represents a milestone in the modernisation of civil aviation support infrastructures in the Azores, enhancing the safety of air operations, the efficiency of operational decision-making and the resilience of Lajes Airport.

The new automatic weather station ensures greater safety for civil aviation by providing accurate and real-time weather information, which is essential for pilots, air traffic controllers and traffic services.

The system ensures continuous and reliable monitoring. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with automatic data collection on wind, visibility, atmospheric pressure, temperature, precipitation, and significant phenomena.

It also features advanced hazard detection capabilities, which can identify thunderstorms, fog, and reduced visibility conditions that directly affect the operation of the Lajes Civil Airport.

The technological integration of the new station also ensures that the data collected is available at nine workstations distributed across various locations, thereby facilitating real-time sharing and analysis.

For the Vice-President of the Government, this weather station "raises civil aviation safety in the Azores to a new global level."

The Lajes Civil Airport will experience "even greater safety in its daily operations," with "clear benefits for all aeronautical activity in the Region," he stated.

This system also introduces "greater operational efficiency, enabling faster decision-making and better resource management," pointed out Artur Lima.

With this protocol, the Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government of the Azores and the Portuguese Air Force reiterate their joint commitment to ensuring the best safety conditions and technological modernisation for civil aviation in the archipelago.