HungaroControl, the ANSP for Hungary, purchases Airtel ATN Router to provide ATN connectivity for CPDLC

Airtel ATN, dedicated to the development of communications software for the Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN), has announced that HungaroControl, the company responsible for managing the air traffic services in the Hungarian airspace has purchased its Ground/Ground Router to connect their Thales system to SITA ATN Network.

Airtel ATN’s Ground/Ground Router supports over 10,000 aircraft and is fully compliant with the EU Data Link regulation (29/2009).

European ANSPs are deploying CPDLC Data Link in 2015 to meet the European CPDLC mandate. With the introduction of CPDLC, an additional communication channel will be available for pilots and controllers to send non urgent messages. Controllers will be able to communicate with several pilots simultaneously which will significantly increase air traffic management capacity.

HungaroControl is also using Airtel ATN’s Air Manual Tool (AMT-ATN) and Ground Validation Suite (GVS) to run acceptance and regression tests to validate their CPDLC implementation.
“Site acceptance testing with the Airtel ATN Router was successfully performed in December 2014,” said Gábor Bajkó, Head of Technical Development Division, HungaroControl. “We are now ready for the implementation of CPDLC in 2015.”

According to EUROCONTROL, flight numbers above Europe are expected to reach 14.4 million by 2035, which is 50% more than in 2012. That is 1.8% average annual growth or around half the rate observed in the 40 years to 2008.[1]

“HungaroControl has always been a pioneer in the adoption of new technologies,” said Frank O’Connor, CEO, Airtel ATN. “They have been working hard to improve their air navigation services for the past few years in order to maintain this position. So it makes sense that the company is also one of the first in Eastern Europe to be ready for the EU mandate.”