The UK air traffic management service
provider, NATS, has announced it has invested in Aireon, the company pioneering
a space-based air traffic surveillance service set to revolutionise the aviation
industry.
Through a network of 66 low earth orbiting
Iridium NEXT satellites, Aireon will monitor the location of Automatic Dependent
Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipped aircraft flying anywhere in the world,
transforming the way air traffic control services are provided.
The service will offer global air traffic
surveillance of aircraft. This means that oceans and remote regions like the
poles, deserts and mountainous areas will have real-time aircraft surveillance
for the first time.
The forecasted safety and airspace capacity
benefits, together with the savings in fuel and carbon emissions, are being
hailed as the greatest revolution in air traffic management since the
introduction of radar 70 years ago.
News of the $69m USD investment, worth around
10% equity, was announced at a press conference in Washington DC, near Aireon’s
headquarters, at which NATS also confirmed it is currently consulting with its
customers about introducing the satellite technology for use over the North
Atlantic starting with operational trials from 2019 to deliver the capacity and
safety benefits that the airspace requires to keep pace with demand.
Martin Rolfe,
NATS Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is a transformational technology that will deliver the world’s first truly global air traffic control infrastructure,
making flying even safer and more efficient.
“Investing in Aireon is the best way for us to
shape the future of the service in a way that benefits our customers in the UK
and elsewhere, and to demonstrate NATS’ commitment to playing a leading role in
the development of the next generation of global air traffic technology.
“We’re currently consulting with our airline
customers about how to best deploy this technology. The North Atlantic is the
busiest area of oceanic airspace in the world and the gateway to Europe, but its
routes have now reached their limit of capacity with existing technology, so we
are delighted to now have a way to safely fulfil the ever growing demand from
our customers. What is additionally exciting is that this same technology will
also deliver fuel savings and CO2 reductions that will directly benefit airlines
and their customers.” |
|
|
Martin Rolfe, NATS Chief Executive Officer
(left) with Aireon CEO, Don Thoma. |
Don Thoma,
Aireon Chief Executive Officer, added: “We are ecstatic to welcome NATS to the
Aireon investor family. NATS was among the first air navigation service
providers to see the benefits of space-based ADS-B, and now it only makes sense
that they would become a more formal part of Aireon. The enhancements Aireon’s
space-based ADS-B service will allow in the North Atlantic are a game changer
for the aviation industry and will connect North America and Europe unlike ever
before.”
Marc Courtois,
Chair of the Board of Directors for both Aireon and NAV CANADA stated: “Adding
NATS to our ownership group further confirms what the industry has largely
already realised, that Aireon is on track to fundamentally improve flight safety
worldwide. The technology is real, the system is already performing beyond
expectations, there are just a few more launches to go, and we are eager to
start seeing the improved benefits to the aviation industry and the flying
public.”
Baroness Sugg,
the UK’s Aviation Minister said: “We welcome the agreement between NATS and
Aireon which will see UK skills and expertise play a leading role in developing
the next generation of global air traffic management technology. Our world class
aviation industry has a proud and accomplished history, from the invention of
the jet engine to pioneering air traffic control. This agreement will help
ensure that we remain at the forefront of this vibrant sector.
In addition, it will further enhance safety by
enabling the monitoring of aircraft anywhere in the world, as well as improving
the sustainability of our aviation sector. These are all central to the
Government as we develop our Aviation Strategy.”
|
Image: NATS |
In order to ensure a safe operation today
without the technology to automatically monitor flights in real time, aircraft
over the Atlantic follow very prescriptive speed and separation restrictions
along a rigid track structure that both limits the capacity of the airspace and
forces the airlines to fly trajectories that burn more fuel and generate more
CO2. Air traffic controllers can only track a flight’s progress by receiving
around five position reports from the pilot every hour.
Fulfilling future traffic demand and
delivering service improvements whilst maintaining a safe operation isn’t
possible using today’s technology without operational constraints being applied
to our customers. The analysis jointly undertaken by NATS and NAV CANADA,
endorsed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), projects an
approximate 76% reduction in safety risk from using the Aireon service. This
would allow NATS to meet ICAO’s safety targets while also meeting the growth
needs of the North Atlantic as well as giving customers more flexibility in how
they fly across the ocean.
Last year, NATS Controllers handled 500,000
flights through North Atlantic airspace -that’s 80% of all transatlantic traffic
- and by 2030 industry estimates expect that to grow to almost 800,000 flights.
Being able to control this volume of flights as well as offer airlines the
routes they want at a speed that suits them would generate a net saving of more
than $300 in fuel and 2 tonnes of CO2 per flight, according to analysis by NATS
and ICAO. That equates to more than a million tonnes of CO2 saved every year.
Monitoring aircraft in real-time will also
support the reduction of separation distances from around 40 nautical miles to
just 15nm, in turn making the airspace more flexible and with predictable fuel
and environmental benefits.
The investment in Aireon has been made by NATS
(Services) Limited (NSL). It also comes one year after NSL became joint
shareholders in the Canadian digital tower company, Searidge Technologies
alongside NAV CANADA.
|