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SITA know-how for Air Traffic Control

Despite the current economic climate there has been a continuous growth in air traffic movements. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) recommendation that air navigation service providers (ANSPs) change from government departments to independent corporations and modernize their infrastructure by investing in digital communications, surveillance and navigation (CNS) technology. This will enable improvements in safety, efficiency and the effects on the environment.

SITA operates a global network of over 1,200 VHF ground stations worldwide, a new ICAO standard VHF digital link service. SITA AIRCOM data link supports more than 180 airlines with more than 8,500 individual aircraft in routine airline operation. More than 1,200 customer aircraft use advanced Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS) avionics, enabling pilots to use data link instead of voice for communications with Air Traffic Control.

Industry recognition

SITA has established VHF data link partnerships with the Spanish (AENA, in 2002), German (DFS, in 2005), Saudi Arabian (GACA, in December 2007), and FABEC (France, Switzerland and Benelux, in 2010) ANSPs that enable the highest levels of datalink services to be provided to SITA's AIRCOM customer airlines. This is achieved using both the existing VHF ACARS/VDL services and the ICAO-compliant CPDLC services that use the VHF infrastructure supplied to AENA, the DFS and GACA by SITA. The VHF ground stations deliver air-to-ground communications services for air navigation service applications and airline applications. SITA reported coast-to-coast VDL Mode 2 coverage across the US in 2011.

Discover SITA's industry renowned ATC solutions

Air Traffic Control