Guide to control Dubai Radar (Runway 30L and 30R)

ATC
1
Dubai International Airport

Hello IFC, I am trying to setup a quick guide to help the radar controllers, controlling Dubai during busy times. For the guide purpose I would be using runway 30’s.

Recommended STAR procedures:

  • DATO4D
  • IMPE3C
  • LORI4D
  • PUVA3C
  • VUTE3C

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Recommended SID procedures:

  • All the SID’s with ending “F” could be used for aircrafts departing from runway 30L or 30R.

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Intial Contact:

  • When an aircraft initially contacts you on radar, I would assign them an approach type and after that I would descend them to 8,000 feet.
  • Any departures climbing out, I would restrict them to 6,000 or 7,000 feet. This would help me maintain vertical separation between my arrivals and my departures.

Further Descent for arrivals

  • Once my arrivals are cleared of the departures (mostly when they are parallel to the airport), I would give them a descent to 4,000 feet or 3,000 feet (you can use any other altitude based on your clearance altitude or other preferences).
  • I would alternate the altitudes for aircrafts arriving via west and east STAR’s so that I don’t face any issues with my vertical separation.

Clearances

  • Clearances can be given at 2,000 feet to 4,000 feet depending on the distance on final.
  • For parallel clearances, 2,000 feet and 4,000 feet works better to avoid any parallel clearance vertical separation loss.

Departures

  • Once the departures are cleared of the arrivals, you can give them climb to a specific altitude or simply “Altitude at your Discretion” command for their further climb.

  • It is very important for the radar controllers to take a bit more workload and take the departures on their frequency at Dubai because many STAR’s do cross SID’s on downwind.

Extremely busy times

  • During extreme busy times, I would separate the descend altitudes for directions as well.

For example:

  • North and west arrivals need separation due to common point merge
    DATO4D - Initial descend 8,000 feet
    LORI4D - Initial descend 9,000 feet

  • North, east and south joining the right downwind would need a different set of altitudes to separate them vertically.
    IMPE3C - 8,000 feet
    PUVA3C - 9,000 feet
    VUTE3C - 10,000 feet

Speed Suggestions:

  • Initial Contact / Entering the STAR - 250 to 280 kts IAS
  • On Downwind - 210 to 230 kts IAS
  • Turning base - 180 to 200 kts IAS
  • Clearances - I would highly suggest all radar controllers to use approach speeds depending on each gaps you have to increase or decrease spacing to maintain a good flow of arrivals and to reduce the number of go arounds during busy times. My personal favorite is “180 kts until 6 nm final”.

Ultimately, you make your own guide to control in the best possible way. This is just for reference from my end. Hope you like this short guide on controlling the Dubai Airport arrivals just via STAR procedures. It would the exactly same operations for the runway 12 as well at OMDB.

Let me know in the comments if there are any other airports as well where you would like a guide and I will try to work on those. Thanks all and CYA!

24 Likes
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Great insight! See too many faults from pilots departung and arriving at OMDB. Also too bad that IF doesn’t have a functioning VNAV for ascent and some of the automatic waypoint altitudes are way off

2 Likes
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VNAV on climb would be so good along with direct to a wavepoint functionality but for now, procedures at OMDB if used with proper altitude restrictions are quite smooth.

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Would recommend VUTE3D over VUTE3C and DATO4D for north arrivals which can reduce conflicts with departures and arrivals from south. Also most of them like to be way too high and overspeed for arrivals hence this would likely sort things for speed constraints and might remind them to slow down. I’ve noticed most of the departures to the west and south rather than east so this should make more sense.

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Appreciate the suggestion. I don’t believe the setup you mentioned is useful during busy times because the STAR VUTE3D and DATO4D enter the airport downwind from one side and then cross the airport over. The problem here is that when things get extremely busy, this would cause in a lot of trouble for the radar controllers since they might miss someone who is going to fly over the airport and into another downwind where is already someone or a line going on. It creates a bit of chaos.
I like using 2 downwinds at OMDB so that if I feel like there is not enough room or 2 aircrafts come on right and left downwinds whom I feel might not be well sequenced then what I would generally do is change 1 of the aircraft’s runway and descend them early to clear them to another runway.
Also, if you are splitting approach at Dubai via east and west or north and south arrivals then it would make no sense for aircrafts entering opposite downwinds.
I have added a few of my personal speed uses which I do recommend for a steady control on radar.

1 Like
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Well if needed can also use VUTE3C with D but IMPE3C require earlier deviation and a slightly angled rod along with slower airspeed like under 220kts not sure if that’s gonna work without proper spacing and coordination from north bound aircrafts. Also DATO4D doesn’t sound practical because most of the time simbrief flightplan alligns with either VUTE3C or D like irl and will avoid conflicts with departure as many of them tend to go over 2000ft/min for departures and not something ATC can do much controlling that. IMPE3C requires less than 6000ft for waypoint GIRGO or you will overshoot the curve.

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Regarding this it will slow down departures considerably and higher chance of collision. They rarely give such altitude restrictions for departures irl except for aircrafts departing east and south. Arrivals should be slow down making them do holdings not the other way.