Avinor improves safety on the Norwegian Continental Shelf with new surveillance technology

Avinor Air Navigation Services has now implemented ADS-B technology to provide Flight Information- and Alerting Services on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The introduction contributes to increased safety for the thousands of flights that is carried out annually in the area.

- This is a milestone for Norwegian and European aviation, where Avinor ANS is the first in Europe to implement Air Traffic Control Services based on ADS-B only, says director of En-Route Services in Avinor ANS, Jan Gunnar Pedersen.

Enabler for Controlled Airspace
The ADS-B system will initially be operational in Ekofisk ADS-area and will be expanded to cover Balder ADS-area in January 2015, and continuously be implemented further north in the future. The introduction of ADS-B paves the way for an implementation of Controlled Airspace at a larger scale on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This will improve safety further, where Avinor will be responsible for managing traffic flow and ensure separation between helicopters flying in the area.

Helicopter upgrades
The introduction of ADS-B also requires an upgrade of equipment onboard the helicopters and NCAA have set requirements for airborne equipment. Avinor has worked closely with the helicopter operators, avionics suppliers and regulators to refine requirements and guidelines for certification of ADS-B equipment. The first 12 helicopters are now ready and there will be a rapid increase in the number of ADS-B equipped helicopters until the establishment of Controlled Airspace in 2015, when all helicopters are required to be equipped.

Cooperation with EUROCONTROL
Avinor has cooperated with EUROCONTROL on the development of the ADS-B implementation. In addition to a financial contribution from EUROCONTROL in support of validation, Avinor ANS have benefited from this close cooperation, especially related to standardization, safety work and certification issues for the helicopter equipage.

About ADS-B
ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) is a surveillance technique that relies on aircraft broadcasting their position and other information derived from on board systems (GNSS etc.). Position and other information is sent every few seconds to a network of ground stations and routed to the ATM system in Avinor's Air Traffic Control Centre. The ADS-B system is supplied to Avinor by Saab Sensis.