At the end of April, Indigo Airlines conducted ATR72-600 flight trials of new approach procedures using the GPS-aided GEO augmented navigations (GAGAN) system at the regional airport of Kishangarh in India. GAGAN is the regional satellite-based augmented system (SBAS) that has been implemented by the Government of India. The flight trials were organized with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the DGCA as part of the approval process for localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) procedures.
ICAO supports the implementation of LPV procedures using SBAS in the APAC region owing to its benefit in terms of enhanced safety and improved access to an airport. LPV permits aircraft vertically guided approaches that are operationally nearly equivalent to Cat-I ILS, without the need for ground-based navigational infrastructure. This approach improves the access to an airport due to lower minima and enhances safety as it provides geometric vertical guidance independent of temperature. LPV approaches will make it possible for aircraft to land at airports not equipped with expensive Instrument Landing Systems (ILS).
The ICAO GBAS-SBAS Implementation Task Force has been established two years ago in the APAC region to support States in the implementation of SBAS and GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation System) systems and is developing the approach procedures. So far four meetings of the task force have been held with an aim to produce a guidance document for GBAS-SBAS implementation.