ATC

News, issues, personnel, equipment and developments about air traffic management.

ATC

ICAO Adopts Multi-constellation Standards for GNSS

The International Civil Aviation Organization considers the rollout of new dual-frequency multi-constellation standards a ‘major milestone’.
Satellite in orbit above the Earth
Airlines

Ryanair Decries Continuing French ATC Strikes

Europe’s largest low-cost airline launched a petition calling for the European Commission to allow overflights when French controllers stage a strike.
Ryanair director of operations Neal McMahon (left) and CEO Eddie Wilson hold signs calling for customers to sign a petition to allow for French overflights while air traffic controllers in the country stage strikes.
Airlines

GPS Jamming of Qantas Jets Spotlights Long-standing Issues

GPS/GNSS signal interference has become more common in the aviation industry.
Qantas A330-200 on takeoff
ATC

DOT IG Initiates Another Audit of FAA NextGen Program

The DOT Office of Inspector General has initiated another audit of the FAA's NextGen airspace modernization program.
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ATC

Philippine Probe Rules Out Sabotage in New Year’s ATC Power Outage

An Philippine Senate investigation found no evidence of sabotage or a cybersecurity attack relating to Manila’s January 1 air traffic control power outage.
Stranded passengers during Manila ATC outage on Jan. 1, 2023
ATC

FreeFlight Terrain Radar Altimeters Block 5G Interference

The manufacturer has appointed AvPanels as a preferred reseller for equipment it says is the first major upgrade to radio frequency circuits in decades.
AvPanels Bell Helicopters
ATC

RTCA Head Pushes for Digital Flight Ops

RTCA CEO Terry McVenes wants industry cooperation to develop and implement digital air traffic control technology to accommodate advanced air mobility.
Digital rendering of eVTOL vehicles in flight over city
ATC

FAA Clarifies Instrument Approach Categories

A revised FAA document offers expand guidance on what aircraft approach categories pilots should use for instrument procedures.
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ATC

Revised North Atlantic Ops Manual Published

ICAO has revised its North Atlantic operations and airspace manual, and flight planner OpsGroup is helping pilots make sense of the changes via a summary.
Graphic of North Atlantic Track with airplane flight tracks depicted on map
ATC

JetNet Buys ADS-B Exchange

The acquisition of ADS-B Exchange enables JetNet to expand into real-time flight data while ADS-B Exchange said it can maintain its unfiltered data.
(Photo: ADS-B Exchange
Airlines

Somalian Airspace To Become Class A, Restoring ATC Services

The installation of modern navigation aids ends a 30-year interruption of full air traffic control operations over Somalia and the surrounding region.
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Airlines

FAA Attributes Failure of Notam IT System to Human Error

IT personnel failed to follow procedure while working on the computer system that generates Notams, according to the FAA.
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Airports

Airbus Tests Autonomous Flight Diversions, Taxiway Support

The aircraft maker's DragonFly technology could enable automated diversions in response to medical emergencies and improve safety at busy airports.
Airbus UpNext fitted three external cameras to an A350-1000 for flight testing.
ATC

NBAA Urges Enhanced Redundancies for Notam System

NBAA said the industry has been pushing for improvements and enhanced redundancies for the Notam system for four years.
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Airlines

FAA Blames Damaged Database File for Notam System Outage

Investigations into the latest air transport system meltdown in the U.S. begin as traffic flows return to normal after a software glitch grounds flights.
Newark Airport in the New York City area experienced significant disruption.
ATC

FAA Lifts Grounding Order Following U.S. Notam Outage

Normal airline operations resumed at about 9 a.m. after a failure of the U.S. notam system forced the cancellation of some 850 flights.
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Airlines

Eurocontrol Calls 2022 a ‘Bounceback’ Year, Sees 2025 Recovery

Europe saw air traffic increase to 83 percent of 2019 levels at the end of last year.
Polish Lot aircraft on airport taxiway
ATC

Skyplan Gives Regional Flight Dispatch Training Shot in the Arm

Its courses will enable professionals from as far afield as the CIS, India and Africa to obtain training and refresher courses.
Muhammad Sami, president and CEO of SkyPlan Services
ATC

Improved Arrival Procedures in Effect at Toronto Pearson

The new procedures are intended to shorten flight paths and flying times, reduce fuel burn, and increase the use of quieter continuous descent operations.
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Airlines

IATA Slams 30% Increase in North Atlantic Airspace Fees

The airline industry group has demanded that Danish and Icelandic air navigation service providers reverse planned airspace fees averaging 30 percent.
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ATC

AINsight: Six Feet from Disaster

An incorrect barometric setting on an RNAV (GPS) approach could have fatal consequences without any overt warnings to the crew.
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Airlines

ATC Strikes to Cause Major Disruption at Italian Airports

Strikes scheduled for Friday among staff of Italy’s air navigation service provider extend disruptions felt during a difficult summer season in Europe.
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ATC

FAA Notam Prohibits Bizav from CPDLC En Route Trial

A September 24 notam prohibits most general and business aviation aircraft from taking part in the CPDLC en route trial due to avionics performance issues.
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ATC

Eco-performance of Europe’s Air Traffic Mgmt Lagging

Europe’s air navigation service providers generally failed to meet last year’s environmental targets for air traffic management, according to a new report.
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ATC

UAS Manufacturers Get Reprieve for Remote ID

The FAA has delayed requirements for unmanned aircraft systems to have remote ID systems to Dec 16, 2022.
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Airlines

French ATC Strike Inflicts More European Flight Disruption

French air traffic controllers are striking over pay demands and allegations of insufficient recruitment, prompting Ryanair to repeat demands for reforms.
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Airlines

U.S. Dispute over Pilot Shortages, Flight Disruptions Ratchets Up

ALPA stages nationwide picketing campaign in U.S. ahead of expected holiday travel crunch.
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ATC

AINsight: A Visual Approach Gone Bad

A visual approach in a large turbine-powered aircraft can be a challenge.
ATC

FAA Expresses Concern about Navigation Errors at KTEB

The FAA Safety Team issued a notice reminding operators of proper departure procedures at Teterboro, saying navigation errors have been happening.
ATC

100 years of air traffic control

While the precise date for the founding of air traffic control services remains in dispute, the period of 1920-1922 is when ATC began.
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