Chile Air, SITA Partner to Implement Future Air Navigation System
Airlines using Chilean airspace will have the support of the very latest technology for aircraft surveillance and communications between crew and air traffic control from September 2006.
Chile´s General Civil Aviation Division (DGAC is the acronym in Spanish) announced that following an international public bid process, it has selected SITA as its data link service provider in the delivery of Future Air Navigation Services (FANS 1/A) such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS) and Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC).
The decision to introduce FANS 1/A services in the Chile from 2006 onwards is part of a transition plan developed by DGAC Chile in response to targets set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
FANS 1/A was built in the early 1990´s based on existing infrastructure and aircraft capabilities, underpinned by the then newly available Aeronautical Mobile Satellite System (AMSS) and the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).
Aircraft with the ADS option transmit their identity, position, altitude and other information at periodic intervals to Air Traffic Management systems on the ground and this information can be visualized in a display and provide precise aircraft tracking information to air traffic controllers.
ADS/CPDLC are applications available in a Boeing package called FANS 1 and AIRBUS package called FANS A hence the hybrid name FANS 1/A. Both packages are certified and currently used by over 1,200 aircraft in the world.
