Airbus Prosky and Avianca complete successful Performance Based Navigation flight from El Salvador International Airport

Avianca’s successful two hour demonstration flight on Saturday, August 2nd showcased the implementation of Required Navigation Performance arrivals and approaches at Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport. In the presence of the Aeronautical Authorities of El Salvador, Avianca’s demonstration flight marks the finalization of the operational implementation of the new Performance Based Navigation (PBN) airspace in San Salvador.

This major achievement is the first milestone of a larger program lead by Avianca and Airbus ProSky, in cooperation with all local authorities and COCESNA (Corporación Centroamericana de Servicios de Navegación Aérea), to improve airport access, safety and reduce CO2 emissions in Central America. Avianca, an all-Airbus operator of passenger aircraft with over 100 seats, is committed to promoting the implementation of PBN procedures in the Latin America region that are fully managed by aircraft systems and optimized for flight efficiencies. Taking advantage of the Airbus A320 family capabilities, Avianca plans to deploy a network of RNP-AR (Authorization-Required) airports, including Guatemala and San José International airports, which will be operational in the near future. The corresponding procedures are aimed to benefit to the entire aviation industry and will be released publicly into the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) by the dedicated local Authority.

“This success proves that, when managed collaboratively with all stakeholders, mainly, the DGAC of El Salvador, COCESNA, Avianca and Airbus ProSky, efficient airspace projects can be delivered on a timely manner and provide tremendous benefits for all,” said Paul-Franck Bijou, CEO Airbus ProSky. “We are quite excited to start flying these procedures and expand this program to other airports,” stated Vittorio Marconi, Director Proyectos Operacionales Avianca. “Being able to combine safety, enhanced passenger experience and fuel saving with one project is not very common and we thank all stakeholders for their active role to make this a success.”

Airbus and its’ Air Traffic Management subsidiary Airbus ProSky supported Avianca through all the project implementation phases, by designing optimized procedures along with a tailored support through operational approval and specific crew and air traffic controllers training.

Successful implementation relies on the strong commitment of local Authorities and Airbus ProSky, who, with the support of Airbus, established an Authority tutoring program to support Airworthiness regulation as required so as Flight inspectors and ATC specific training. At Saturday’s event, an Airbus ProSky ATC expert assisted the Air Traffic Controllers of Comalapa International Airport in managing the RNP-AR procedures while Airbus RNP expert pilot accompanied the Avianca crew, who successfully performed the demonstration flight.

Avianca has combined orders for nearly 200 aircraft and operates 120 Airbus aircraft. Today, Avianca has a backlog of almost 60 Airbus aircraft. Additionally, Synergy Aerospace Corp, Avianca’s largest shareholder, has ordered 10 A350 XWB wide body aircraft, six A330-200 passenger and two A330-200 Freighter aircraft.