Aircraft will need to be equipped with new global positioning technology when operating in US airspace following new regulations from the US Federal Aviation Administration.
The new equipment, which will enable a plane’s exact position to be broadcast to ground controllers and other planes in the sky, must be in place by 1 January 2020.
The GPS rule is a key part of the NextGen Air Traffic Control System, a satellite-based system designed to replace the US’s current ground-based radar control system. NextGen is primed to improve safety, reduce air traffic congestion, create efficiencies on runways and to reduce fuel burn, carbon emissions and noise.
The FAA says that the new performance requirements allow aircraft to be controlled and monitored with great precision and accuracy by the ADS-B satellite system. The new rules will require aircraft flying in certain airspace to broadcast their position via the satellite system.
The new system will also provide pilots with useful safety and navigational information. It will allow pilots to see the location of other aircraft in the surrounding airspace via cockpit displays. It also will let them see where they are in relation to adverse weather and terrain, including when flying at night or in poor visibility.
The system is also designed to provide flight information, including temporary flight restrictions, which would allow pilots to plan safer and more efficient routes.
“Today we have reached a major NextGen milestone,” US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said about the release of the new regulations. “This technology represents another step forward in our ability to make America’s skies the safest in the world.”
The deadline for the GPS systems, 1 January 2020, applies to airlines and business jet operators. But it also includes aircraft that will be operating at commercial airports or close to congested airspace, including small single-engine planes.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said the ruling signals a green light to equipment manufacturers to begin making the equipment "that will allow our air traffic controllers to know where aircraft are with greater precision and reliability".
Costs for installation of the new equipment has been estimated as high as $6.2 billion, with small single-engine planes costing around $10,000.
