Transitional regime for ADS-B airborne stakeholders approved and implementation deadline postponed by 6 months due to COVID-19

Today the European Commission published in the Official Journal of the European Union the long-anticipated amendment of regulations no 1206/2011 (Aircraft ID for surveillance) and 1207/2011 (Surveillance Performance and Interoperability) related to Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B).

The new Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/587 can be reached here.

ADS-B makes it possible to periodically broadcast aircraft information, such as identity, speed or position, derived from on-board systems (e.g. determined via satellite), thus enabling the aircraft to be tracked from the ground for surveillance purposes.

The amendment of this regulation is of great importance to airspace users and air navigation service providers alike.

It provides a much-appreciated transitional regime for the introduction of ADS-B Out and Mode S EHS functionalities in the airborne domain by establishing several exemption clauses and specifying the method for asserting an exemption in the ATC flight plan. 

Air navigation service providers will appreciate the changes which greatly simplify the arrangements for sharing of surveillance data between providers. For a detailed analysis see ads-b-europe.eu.

Furthermore, in recognition of the severity of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, the European Commission has postponed the due date to equip planes with Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast technology from 7 June to 7 December 2020. (read more here)