Airtel provides Data Link software to enable the improvement of air traffic management for safer, cleaner and more efficient air travel globally

Airtel provides Air Traffic Management telecommunication software and test equipment to make aviation safer, greener and more efficient.

Airtel is a global leader in Data Link systems. Airtel supplies operational and test Data Link solutions to Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), Avionics Manufacturers, Communications Service Providers and aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul organizations worldwide.

Based in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, Airtel  began as a telecommunications company, moving to Aeronautical Telecommunications in 1998. Today Airtel’s solutions enable over 6,000 aircraft to connect to the ATC network.

Data Link Benefits

  • Increases flight efficiency in congested airspace
  • Saves fuel from lower amounts of aircraft engine emissions
  • Less communication on radio frequency, thus more availability for non-routine voice communication
  • Increases level of pilot requests which can be dealt with simultaneously
  • Reduces communication errors due to safer frequency changes
  • Decreases air traffic controller workload

The NAC’s Joint Analysis Team (JAT) with the FAA and industry conducted research over 2 months at 4 sites in the USA. They found that Data Link:

  • Resulted in taxi-out time savings between 0.2 and 8.5 minutes per rerouted flight
  • Savings occurred when airlines attempted to recover from schedule delays

Individual airlines’ analysis are similar to the above results over larger sets of data.

  • During severe weather, some aircraft saved more than 90 minutes of delay time
  • With Data Link aircraft can avoid departure delays

As of December 2018, 33% of departures across Data Link equipped airports in the USA utilised Data Link.

The FAA estimates that Data Link technology could produce $10 billion in savings and another $1 billion for the FAA alone, over 30 years.

  • Global leader in Data Link communications
  • Airtel is pivotal in driving innovation in Data Link, shaping the future as partners of SESAR JU, SESAR Deployment Manager, IRIS, Clean Sky 2 and NextGen.
  • Airtel supports 15 European ANSP customers and continues to assist ANSPs in meeting the European Commission Data Link Requirements.
  • Over 6,000 aircraft are equipped with Airtel technology
  • Over 20 years in business
  • Used by CSPs including SITA and Collins Aerospace (ARINC), the FAA in the US and ADCC in China
  • Versatile portable test equipment, independent of ANSP or CSP

Airtel continues to deliver technological excellence within Air Traffic Management (ATM) and is a member of every significant Research & Development programme, including SESAR Joint Undertaking in Europe, CleanSky (COMET) and NextGen in the US.

SESAR 2020

PJ.31: DIGITS –

Demonstration of ATM Improvements Generated by Initial Trajectory Sharing.

The project demonstrates the ATM benefits that can be realised through the use of downlinked 4D trajectory data in ground systems.

PJ.14: EECNS –

Essential and Efficient Communication Navigation and Surveillance integrated system wave 1 and I-CNNS wave 2.

The project aims to specify and develop the future technologies coming from the CNS domains in order to support and manage the operational services, such as the 4D trajectory management, in the future ATM system.

The Airtel team is proud to be leading improvements in the next generation of ATM solutions including SATCOM, Trajectory-Based Operations and Future Communications Infrastructure.

IRIS

Airtel’s software was involved in the successful first test flight as part of the Iris System. Iris is being developed to help alleviate the bottleneck in pilot-controller communications as part of the European Commission’s Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) masterplan.

Funded by ESA with Inmarsat as the prime contractor, Iris will provide a safe and secure text-based data link between pilots and air traffic control (ATC) networks using satellite technology.

 

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