easyJet has taken delivery from Airbus of the first A320 airliner equipped with FANS-C avionics. With this delivery, Airbus is launching the DIGITS project (“Demonstration of air traffic management improvements Generated by 4D Initial Trajectory Information Sharing”). This Airbus aircraft for easyJet will be followed by others at six additional airlines.
This marks the start of a field trial within the framework of the European research project SESAR (“Single European Sky ATM Research”) Air Traffic Management (ATM). The EU Commission supports the unification and integration of European airspace.
Coordination between aircraft and air traffic control
The FANS-C capability is designed to enable passenger aircraft to further optimize their flight routes. Furthermore, it aims to ensure a smoother overall flow of air traffic by facilitating easier adjustment of aircraft speeds. This also yields benefits in terms of noise emissions and fuel consumption. Crucial to this are the functions for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C) and the technology for communication between air traffic controllers and pilots (Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication, CPDLC).
To this end, the aircraft transmits its flight path – defined in 4D (i.e., by three spatial coordinates and time) – to air traffic control. By communicating this anticipated flight trajectory to air traffic control, valuable efficiencies are unlocked, enabling better sequencing of arriving aircraft and their integration into the controlled airspace surrounding airports (the TMA, or “Terminal Maneuvering Area”). The German air navigation service provider, DFS, has already demonstrated that adjusting flight speed to meet a specific target time at the airport results in savings of both fuel and time. Consequently, both air traffic operations and passengers would benefit from more reliable flight schedules.
Large-Scale Field Trial as a Global Pioneer
By mid-2020, seven additional airlines are scheduled to join DIGITS: Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Novair, Thomas Cook, and Wizz Air. By then, nearly 100 Airbus A320-series aircraft equipped with FANS-C are expected to be operating in scheduled service. This large-scale trial – known as VLD (“Very Large Demonstration”) – is set to collect data on 20,000 commercial flights over the course of one year.
The European aircraft manufacturer paved the way for the DIGITS project by securing certification for the world’s first avionics system featuring FANS-C 4D capabilities. Meanwhile, air navigation service providers are equipping air traffic control centers with the corresponding ground-based technology. The A320 family – Airbus’s most-produced aircraft series – serves merely as the pioneer in this endeavor. The aircraft delivered today was outfitted with a Data Link Router (ATSU), an upgrade to the Flight Management System (FMS), and “DCDU” displays – i.e., Data Link-compatible cockpit displays – to enable its FANS-C capability. FANS-C is subsequently set to be rolled out incrementally across all other Airbus aircraft programs.
