DFS receives award for the introduction of satellite-based procedures using EGNOS

The prize was awarded by the European GNSS Agency for satellite navigation and the operator of the EGNOS system, ESSP. Ralph Riedle, Managing Director Operations, received the award on behalf of DFS.

DFS received the prize for 82 procedures at 39 aerodromes. At these aerodromes, approaches flown with the aid of EGNOS acting as a geometric vertical navigation component have been in use since December 2011. This means that Germany has the highest number of published procedures that use EGNOS in Europe. Approaches to these aerodromes are possible with lateral navigation/vertical navigation (LNAV/VNAV) minima. Further development of procedures is planned for 2012 which will allow LPV minima (LPV = localiser performance with vertical guidance). This represents a further improvement of the operational minima.

So far, six European aerodromes have been equipped with LPV minima: three in France (Pau, Clermont-Ferrand, Le Bourget), two in Switzerland (St. Gallen-Altenrhein, Les Eplatures) and one on the Channel Island of Alderney.

The German Federal Supervisory Authority for Air Navigation Services (BAF) approved the use of EGNOS on 15 December 2011. This followed the signing of the agreement between DFS and ESSP SAS, the Toulouse-based provider of EGNOS, on 9 December 2011. ESSP had officially declared the start of EGNOS safety-of-life services on 2 March 2011. The advantage of EGNOS is that the airport does not need additional navigation aids and thus is a cost-efficient alternative for smaller airports that would like to enable approach procedures down to 250 ft minima.