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| FlightAware ADS-B Coverage Map. Photo: FlightAware |
[Avionics Magazine 11-30-2016] Aireon and FlightAware have announced a partnership with SITAONAIR to provide Aireon’s space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data to SITAONAIR’s airline customers when the data becomes available in 2018. When available, SITAONAIR airline customers with ADS-B Out equipped aircraft will have access to 100 percent global flight tracking data, in real time, through SITAONAIR’s Aircom FlightTracker product.
The partnership also means that airlines already using SITAONAIR’s Aircom FlightTracker product will automatically begin seeing the new Aireon data appear in their systems without the need for new avionics or for aircraft modifications. Additionally, prospective customers can be up and running to receive the new data in as short as one week. The Aireon data will be delivered to SITAONAIR via FlightAware, which provides a secure streaming data feed of flight positions and flight status data via a combination of worldwide air traffic control data, ground-based ADS-B, and aircraft datalink information.
Currently, Aircom FlightTracker is an Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) and terrestrial surveillance-based system that provides regular flight position updates and requires no modification to aircraft. The solution works by gathering data from multiple global sources, complementing active Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) Future Air Navigation System activity with additional automatic dependent surveillance-contract connectivity. The addition of Aireon’s space-based ADS-B data provide global coverage in real time, thereby resolving all data feed coverage gaps that may remain.