@Stocklib-Maksim Shmeljov
Of the digitally linked flights to and from Italy will be operated from this summer, thanks to the deployment of data link technology Iris for Aviation of the’European Space Agency (ESA) andInmarsat in the cockpits of the entire fleet of aircraftITA Airways.
ITA Airways will be the first European airline to join Iris for Aviation. This program enables aircraft to take more fuel-efficient routes by providing digital satellite communications to supplement VHF data links, whose capacity is about to run out in congested airspace. Without fast and reliable data links between aircraft and the ground, air traffic controllers cannot achieve the 8-10% reduction in CO2 emissions identified by Eurocontrol resulting from improved air traffic management (ATM, English Air Traffic Management). Iris will allow air traffic controllers to better anticipate and collaborate in order to maximize the use of airspace, limit the impact of disruptions on passengers while reducing emissions.
The Italian airline will equip its entire fleet of new Airbus A320neo and A330neo delivered with Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S), the communication platform which already equips more than 230 aircraft worldwide and which powers Iris. Its devices will also play an important role in Iris demonstration flights, which will take place in European airspace supported by 14 air navigation service providers (ANSPs) during the year 2023. This news comes as five other airlines have equipped their planes with Inmarsat’s SB-S system, after Airbus’ Light Cockpit Satcom (LCS) terminal became available to order in December 2022.
Current users of the SB-S system are Virgin Atlantic, Jet2, Transavia Airlines, easyJet and ITA Airways. For the fleet of these seven European airlines, 72 deliveries of aircraft equipped with the Airbus LCS terminal are planned between 2023 and 2024. Inmarsat terminals compatible with Iris installed in many other European commercial airlines will contribute to the master plan of the program single European sky air traffic management (SESAR) research project.
« We are proud to support the digitization of European skies from space, which will help make aviation greener. ESA developed the Iris system in partnership with Inmarsat and we welcome ITA Airways as the first full-service carrier and second airline to commit to using it. Investing in space is improving life on Earth said Javier Benedicto, Acting Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications at ESA.
©ITA Airways