ENAIRE makes progress in safety, efficiency and sustainability with the expansion of its service certificate to include ADS-B surveillance

ENAIRE, Spain's air navigation service provider, has received from AESA, Spain's National Aviation Safety Agency, an update to its certificate as an air navigation service provider that extends its scope and includes ADS-B services. This new service will allow ENAIRE to offer an even safer, more efficient and sustainable air traffic management service.

What is ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance)?

ADS-B is a surveillance technique in which an aircraft broadcasts its position, determined using on-board navigation systems, together with many other parameters.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance can provide coverage in areas not covered by other sensors, with a minimal environmental impact European Implementing Regulation EU1207/2011 requires aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B transponders or, in duly authorised cases, that they be so equipped by the end of 2023. Due to its low cost, its minimum environmental and electromagnetic impact, and to the benefits it provides, the ADS-B system is the ideal choice to provide surveillance coverage in certain locations.

In order to comply with European regulations and satisfy its users' requirements, ENAIRE has implemented an ADS-B deployment plan that includes the installation of sensors in strategic locations throughout Spain.

The first stations were installed in Alicante, Granada and Menorca, for which ENAIRE provided the necessary evidence and documentation to certify itself as a provider of ADS-B services.

Vejer de la Frontera and Yeste

The stations installed in Vejer de la Frontera and Yeste will soon be placed in service, and contracts for six ADS-B stations have been awarded to provide coverage to the area of Cantabria. ENAIRE is also outfitting all its Mode S surveillance radars with ADS-B capability. In the medium and long term, plans have already been drawn up to gradually deploy this type of surveillance sensor in ENAIRE's five regional centres (Centre North, East, South, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands).

Being certified as an ADS-B service provider is an important milestone for ENAIRE since, once the process of integrating the ADS-B signal into the SACTA air control system is complete in mid-2022, ADS-B will be phased into the operations of the various centres.

ENAIRE's investment in ADS-B systems in coming years will contribute to the goals of ENAIRE's Strategic Plan, the 2025 Flight Plan, and enhance the efficiency, environmental sustainability and quality of its services, and in so doing, aid in the recovery of the aviation sector.

The deployment plan is co-funded through 2023 with European funds from CINEA.