Santa provided with Christmas Eve weather forecast

As the countdown to Christmas approaches, Airservices meteorology experts are keeping a close eye on weather patterns to provide Santa with the latest forecast for his flight across Australia.

Airservices air traffic controllers will help guide Santa to his first stop in Tasmania as he arrives from New Zealand, before he heads to the mainland and uses Australia’s five different time zones, criss-crossing the country delivering presents.

To help ensure Santa has as smooth a ride as possible, Airservices National Operations Centre in Canberra will keep Santa up-to-date with weather information throughout the evening.

Airservices controllers will be able to view Santa’s exact whereabouts in our skies twice every second through the use of the latest satellite technology, Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast or ADS-B.

Santa’s sleigh was fitted with ADS-B in 2009 and he was one of the first to use Australia’s satellite network that Christmas. It is now used by Australian air traffic controllers each year to track and provide assistance to Santa in delivering presents to all of the homes he needs to reach, as well as for all ADS-B-capable aircraft throughout the year.

Airservices Executive General Manager Corporate and Industry Affairs, Mairi Barton, said that Airservices worked closely with the Bureau of Meteorology year-round.

“We have provided Santa with the latest weather forecasts and our meteorologists and air traffic controllers will help Santa keep on top of any sudden weather changes throughout the night.

“Australia is such a large country that Santa may experience several different weather conditions during the night, from thunderstorm activity to clear skies around the country,” Ms Barton said.

Santa’s flight path is available at www.airservicesaustralia.com/santa