Wireless Headset Procedure through ATLAS

To protect headset man from lightning threat, the Hong Kong International Airport launched the Wireless Headset Procedure (WHP) in late 2014. Under WHP, whenever there is lightning threat, wireless headset will be deployed in order to mitigate the risk of electric shock by charges carrying from the nose landing gear when lightning strikes a parking aircraft. Commencing 1 January 2015, WHP will be activated by the Airport Thunderstorm and Lightning Alerting System (ATLAS) of the Hong Kong Observatory. ATLAS will trigger the procedure when cloud-to-ground lightning is detected within 16 km of the airport and hold it for 60 minutes. Messages related to the WHP will be disseminated through email, on the Observatory's Aviation Meteorological Information Dissemination System (AMIDS) and via Twitter. Sirens over the airfield are also being modified to sound a special signal when the WHP is activated.

Figure 1  AMIDS ATLAS display when WHP is in force