[Avionics Magazine 06-27-206] Airbus has carried out successful “Gatelink” secure wireless data transfer tests using its Airbus’ A350 MSN02 flight-test aircraft at the arrival gate of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport. The tests demonstrated the ability for large amounts — about one Gigabyte in this case — of operational data transfer between the A350 and the ground via Gatelink. The A350’s wireless Gatelink technology uses Local Area Network (WLAN) technology with high-bandwidth protocols to transmit data wirelessly from a docked aircraft to destinations throughout the airport.
Airbus A350 XWB. Photo: Airbus.
This marks the first time that an A350 used the Wi-Fi Gatelink at CDG airport. On the ground side at CDG, this demonstration/test was facilitated by Hub One, a subsidiary of Aéroports de Paris (Group ADP) and a specialist in IT services for workplace and airport environments. The exchanged data included flight-folders, operational and maintenance documentation, condition-monitoring (ACMS) data.
Traditionally, ground staff could only access these types of data by laptop connected to the aircraft via a physical cable connector. The data can be shared between aircraft and passenger terminals, maintenance operations and ground support, among other domains.