A major improvement that will result in safer conditions with real-time air traffic surveillance to a vast area of African corridors using space-based ADS-B.
Aireon and Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) will bring real-time air traffic surveillance to high-trafficked, terrestrial African corridors having signed a data services agreement with the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA). ASECNA, created in December 1959 is an international public organization of 18 members States with headquarters in Dakar (SENEGAL).
ASECNA’s members states are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Centrafrique, Comores, Congo, Côte d’ivoire, Gabon, Guinée Bissau, Guinée Equatoriale, France, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritanie, Niger, Sénégal, Tchad and Togo.
ASECNA is one of Africa’s largest Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), covering 16.1 million square kilometers of airspace, through six Flight Information Regions (FIRs) – Antananarivo, Brazzaville, Dakar Oceanic, Dakar Terrestrial, Niamey and N’Djamena.
ASECNA is responsible for air traffic services in a significant part of the African continent, handling frequently traveled routes between Europe, East and Southern Africa and South America. With AireonSM data, as early as 2019, ASECNA will be able to introduce a continuous layer of surveillance, augmenting existing infrastructure and completing coverage for their entire airspace. This will significantly improve service availability to airlines and enhance safety and efficiency in African airspace.
Mohamed MOUSSA, ASECNA Director General said that the vastness of the landmass that ASECNA is responsible for poses an immense surveillance challenge, especially because it is not always possible to install or maintain ground infrastructure. He added that with Aireon’s space-based ADS-B, they are looking towards the future, augmenting their capability and providing full, real-time air traffic surveillance to their airlines. This will not only provide a much higher level of availability of services, but will also significantly increase safety, as controllers will be able to see all aircraft, in real-time, across the ASECNA airspace. Safety will always be the top priority, and they look forward to having real-time surveillance in this part of the African continent.
Don Thoma, CEO of Aireon added that the Agreement with ASECNA is a major step towards safety and efficiency in Western and Central Africa, allowing 17 African States to make a major step towards some of the main goals of the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan. He continued that safety has long been a top priority in the region, and they are proud to be working with leading organizations such as ASECNA. For the first time, more than half of the African airspace will be under real-time air traffic surveillance.
ASECNA joins other African ANSPs in the deployment of space-based ADS-B. South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) and Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) have also signed agreements over the last 18 months.