At the end of March, together with NAV CANADA, we started trial use of Aireon’s satellite based ADS-B system to track aircraft flying through the world’s busiest piece of oceanic airspace – the North Atlantic.
That has allowed us to progress from the traditional, procedural form of control where aircraft reported their position every 14 minutes, to one which is virtually real-time, with track updates every few seconds.
That transformation means we’ve been able to begin reducing aircraft separations and for airlines to begin flying at the speed that best suits them. That’s in addition to the clear safety benefit of having real-time surveillance and conformance monitoring (ie. knowing that an aircraft is complying with the clearance they’ve been issued), something we believe will significantly reduce the estimated risk of a collision.
It’s now been over two months since the service was introduced as part of a progressive trial implementation, and we’re getting a clear picture of what all that means in terms of early benefits to our customers.
