AMHS Gains Ground as the Coming Standard

The number of interregional connections using the up-to-date Aeronautical Message Handling System (AMHS) standard is on the rise and looks set to replace AFTN as the network of choice for the transfer of international flight plans and other aeronautical data.

The recent establishment of interregional connections between EUR/NAT and ASIA/PAC, by NATS the UKs leading air traffic solutions company using its interregional gateway with COMSOFTs AMHS solution AIDA-NG, has established NATS as the major hub for the reception and transmission of AMHS messages between Europe and other ICAO regions. As required by ICAO regulations, thorough pre-operational and interoperability tests were carried out before the new connections went live. Given the importance of interregional links, NATS has already taken the lead on AMHS with its first interregional connection established with Atlanta, U.S.A. in October 2011.

According to the ICAO Com Chart, there are now 17 official AMHS connections worldwide, and as the market-leading supplier of AMHS systems, COMSOFT and its customers have made a huge contribution to this trend. Hardly surprising that COMSOFTs flagship AMHS product AIDA-NG is now the solution of choice for 88% of worldwide AMHS connections. Many more COMSOFT systems are ready for AMHS.

As a safe IP-based alternative to AFTN, the powerful AMHS standard offers several advantages over its predecessor, including fast transfer rates and ability to transmit messages of virtually unlimited size and in any format. The latter feature is especially important for the transmission of messages in emerging arbitrary message contents such as XML used for distributing Digital NOTAMs.