Atlantic Airways Airbus A319 First in Europe to Use RNP

ERA member, Atlantic Airways, is the first airline in Europe to use required navigation performance (RNP) procedures on a commercial flight. The sophisticated equipment will enable the airline to improve airport access and reliability at its operationally-demanding Faroe Islands base.
The occasion also marked the first commercial flight of the airline's new 144-seat Airbus A319 that was delivered the previous week. The flight departed from Vágar Airport at 0815 on 28 March, bound for Copenhagen, and returned at 1400 hours with 142 passengers on board.

The RNP-AR 0.1 navigation system was developed by Airbus subsidiary Quovadis, working with Atlantic Airways as part of a bespoke Airbus A319 package. It uses sophisticated positioning equipment to enable flight crews to operate approach and take-offs in challenging weather conditions that are typical in the Faroe Islands. It also guides pilots along the non-linear approach path to Vágar Airport, necessitated by the high terrain at either end of the runway.

Magni Arge, Chief Executive of Atlantic Airways, said: "The remote location of the Faroe Islands, surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, we have been recognised as the world's favourite unspoiled islands, but on the other hand, in adverse weather conditions our nearest diversionary airports are in Icleand, Norway and Scotland and this has major implications for both our operational costs and customer convenience.

"Atlantic Airways may not be the largest airline in Europe but we are very proud to be the first airline in Europe to introcduce the RNP AR 0.1 Performance-Based Navigation System so as to reduce the potential impact of adverse conditions."

Paul Franck Bijou, CEO of Quovadis, said: "Atlantic Airways decided to implement the most advanced technology to serve the interests of its operations best and to take advantage of its Airbus aircraft's capabilities. Quovadis has been very glad to support this highly qualified Atlantic Airways team and to work with the airline and the regulators to enable the introduction of the system to coincide with the first commercial flight today (28 March) of the Airbus by Atlantic Airways."
Contact
Lesley Shepherd
From
ERAA
Website
www.eraa.org
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