Bridging the Blind Spots: How Monterrey Airport and AirportLabs Built a Unified Digital Airfield

Monterrey, MEXICO, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Safety at a high-traffic hub like Monterrey International Airport (MTY) depends on one thing: knowing exactly what is happening on the airfield at any given second. As one of Mexico's most significant gateways, handling over 15 million passengers a year, MTY faces the immense task of managing a dense schedule of domestic and international flights with zero margin for error.

MTY struggled with a lack of real-time visibility into aircraft and ground movements — a gap left by restricted access to ATC radar data — alongside physical blind spots that remained out of reach for traditional CCTV. To solve this, OMA Airports, part of the VINCI Airports network, selected AirportLabs and deployed RealTime Airport to build a robust, independent data ecosystem that would provide the Operations Control Centre (CCO) with total situational awareness.

Turning Raw Data into Digital Clarity

AirportLabs implemented a custom hardware layer that serves as the eyes and ears of the airfield. Because MTY needed a reliable source of aircraft data independent of third-party providers, dedicated ADS-B antennas were deployed across the site, providing a live, radar-style view of all aircraft on the ground and in the air — including inbound, outbound, and overflying traffic.

MTY's emergency and service fleet was simultaneously equipped with GPS trackers, feeding live position data into RealTime Airport to create a unified map where every asset is visible at all times.

The platform goes beyond simple visualisation. It actively processes location data to support the CCO, sending immediate alerts if a vehicle enters a restricted or unauthorised zone or exceeds the speed limit assigned to the section of the airfield in which it is travelling.

Mastering Time with Map Replay

With the system capturing and processing every movement, MTY unlocked the Map Replay capability. This tool acts as a digital timeline, allowing teams to rewind the airfield map to any moment in the past. Unlike a video recording, it provides a data-rich environment to review the precise speed, trajectory, and identity of every aircraft and vehicle simultaneously.

This was put to the test during a night-time emergency diversion. An aircraft was positioned behind a building that blocked the CCO's line of sight. Through the integration of ADS-B and GPS data, the "invisible" became visible. The team used Map Replay to reconstruct the event, verify vehicle speeds, and pinpoint exactly which CCTV camera to use for visual evidence.

"Map Replay provides the vital additional context we need. We can instantly find the right CCTV camera that was looking at that specific incident exactly when it happened. By seeing the precise trajectory on the map, you truly understand what's going on across the entire airfield." - Javier Morales de la Barrera, Project Manager, OMA Airports

The Result: A New Standard for Operational Excellence

The deployment has moved MTY from a reactive posture to a proactive, data-driven culture. The combination of ADS-B and GPS tracking has eliminated blind spots, providing a 100% accurate, real-time view of the entire airfield. Vehicle IDs are visible at all times, enabling controllers to immediately distinguish assets and improve coordination with handling teams.

MTY now uses the system to audit actual response times through historical data, ensuring compliance with mandatory regulatory requirements, while high-detail reports are generated in minutes to continuously analyse and optimise procedures.

RealTime Airport: Beyond the Airfield Map

While this case study focuses on airfield visibility and blind spot elimination, RealTime Airport is a comprehensive airport operations platform that provides a live view of the entire airport — monitoring turnarounds, resources, passenger flow, and consolidated reports from different sources that teams can act on. With built-in A-CDM support, it moves operations teams from reactive to proactive, enabling smarter operational planning across the entire airport operation.

Download the full case study at the following link to learn more about the RealTime Airport implementation at Monterrey Airport and how unified data can transform your airfield operations: https://www.airportlabs.com/post/bridging-the-blind-spots-how-monterrey-airport-and-airportlabs-built-a-unified-digital-airfield 

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About AirportLabs

A global leader in aviation technology, AirportLabs delivers integrated, cloud-native tools that make airport operations simple. With over a decade of proven results and deployments at 100+ airports – including some of the world's busiest international hubs – AirportLabs helps operational teams work as one, with shared, real-time insight. By connecting critical systems and simplifying complex data instead of adding complexity, AirportLabs enables airports, airlines, and ground handlers to increase efficiency, strengthen resilience, and deliver a smoother passenger experience.