DFS- Deutsche Flugsicherung

 Air navigation software developer saves €1 million using Qt.

DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH is responsible for air traffic control in Germany. As a company organised under private law, DFS is 100% owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. Founded in 1993, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH is the successor to the Federal Administration of Air Navigation Services, a government authority which had existed for 39 years. To do this, the German Bundestag had to change the German Constitution and the German Aviation Act. Since January 1993, DFS has been controlling air traffic in Germany and manages 3.15 million flights per year.

The Challenge

German air navigation supplier DFS was ready to move from a navigation software system purchased by industry suppliers to its own in-house developed PC/Linux- based system. The new system, called Phoenix, was to be used at airport towers for flight scheduling and tracking.

The Solution

Using Qt, Phoenix was developed entirely in-house by a development project team and has since become the de-facto standard air navigation system, replacing previous tower control systems as part of Germany’s overall air traffic management system. Qt provided the functionality, quality of code and online documentation the team needed. DFS was also impressed with Qt’s licensing model.

The Value

Developing the system in-house on Qt saved DFS an estimated 1 million Euros and as many as 104 man months in development time. In addition to the cost and time savings, using Qt to develop on Linux enabled quality, functionality and configurability.

“Without Qt, we would not have had the level of software control that enabled us to quickly extend the application to new requirements. This makes it possible for or us to be recognized as an IT and software service provider in the DFS.”
Ralf Heidger – Head of Department SH/T, DFS.