The Indianapolis International Airport is one of the first in the nation to feature a revolutionary new runway safety software. 

The Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) is a public/private initiative to increase runway safety across the national airspace system. Michael Emanuel, a Project Manager for the Federal Aviation Administration, says SAI provides air traffic controllers additional situational awareness of aircraft and vehicles on airport surfaces such as runways.  

The SAI software has an interactive map that indicates aircraft and support vehicles’ movements on runways. With greater visibility of runway traffic, air traffic controllers can easily maneuver vehicles, cutting down on runway collisions.    

Emanuel says SAI will be even more useful at night or during rainy and foggy weather conditions when air traffic controllers’ visibility is limited. “Air travel begins and ends on the ground,” he says. 

The Indianapolis airport was one of the first in the nation to install SAI, and the software has been operational since June 30.