ICAO recommendations calling for airlines to report flight positions every 15 minutes become official on Thursday 8 November 2018 – and SITAONAIR is helping multiple airlines around the world meet them, thanks to its cutting-edge AIRCOM® FlightTracker.
Major airlines including Avianca Brasil, Azul, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Singapore Airlines and Vistara, already use AIRCOM® FlightTracker, across more than 250,000 flights a month. In delivering flight precision, enhanced awareness and reinforced safety, FlightTracker enables airlines to unlock greater operational effectiveness in an increasingly congested airspace, to minimize costs and support passenger satisfaction.
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Global Aeronautical Distress Safety System (GADSS) recommendations compel airlines to commit to minimum standards of aircraft tracking, with the aim of improving safety, detection of aircraft in distress, and efficient and effective search and rescue. The ICAO urges operators to report aircraft positions at least once every 15 minutes as of Thursday 8 November 2018, and additional aircraft distress processes will be added from 2021.
SITAONAIR has led the way in preparing airlines for this major milestone in aviation safety. Its ground-based, easy-to-implement AIRCOM® FlightTracker software system guarantees regular flight position updates, without requiring any new avionics or modifications to aircraft.
Gathering data from multiple global sources – including FlightAware’s Firehose data feed – it bridges gaps between air navigation services provider tracking, to offer 100% global flight tracking with position updates at least once-per-minute. The FlightAware feed delivers live aircraft position data from its terrestrial network of ADS-B receivers, as well as from Aireon’s space-based ADS-B network, which, hosted on the Iridium® NEXT constellation, is now providing live flight tracking.
In incorporating this space-based ADS-B data, SITAONAIR’s enhanced FlightTracker gives airlines the tools to receive the precise position, speed and altitude of their airborne fleet anywhere in the world – even over oceans and polar regions. They are also able to exceed the ICAO 15-minute recommendation, in readiness for 2021’s anticipated one-minute recommendation.
Dominique El Bez, Vice President, Product and Strategy, SITAONAIR says: “SITAONAIR is proud to have been at the fore in empowering global airlines to respond to the ICAO’s vital recommendations. Our AIRCOM® FlightTracker provides the cost-effective, multi-fleet, multi-data solution, for airlines all over the world. With the inclusion of Aireon space-based ADS-B, SITAONAIR’s solution enables airlines to exceed GADSS standards and recommended practices and automatically alerts users if an aircraft ceases to broadcast its position. As the first and only space-based ADS-B network, Aireon’s coverage represents a significant advancement in flight tracking abilities for the entire aviation industry.
“We urge airlines to speak to us now, to discover how our cutting-edge AIRCOM® FlightTracker can enable them to deliver greater flight precision, awareness and reinforced safety, today.”
Discover SITAONAIR’s AIRCOM® FlightTracker by exploring our whitepaper, webinar and videos online at comms.sita.aero/soa-flighttracker-home.
About SITAONAIR
SITAONAIR is the air travel industry’s trusted connected aircraft service expert, powering innovation with recognized expertise and future-proof solutions. With our unrivalled industry-backed heritage, SITAONAIR delivers the promises of the connected aircraft, empowering 400+ airlines, 60+ ANSPs and 16,000+ aircraft to navigate the complexity of connectivity with our best-in-class solutions and services for passengers, cockpit and cabin crew, flight operations, aircraft big data and air traffic management. We believe that embracing a digital shift will reinvent the operation of aircraft, flight and on-board experience – making it safer, more efficient and enjoyable.
SITAONAIR is a subsidiary of The SITA Group, the communications and IT solution provider that transforms air travel through technology for airlines, at airports and on aircraft.