Post #MH370, Inmarsat to provide free airline tracking service

In the aftermath of Malaysia Airlines MH370, Bangalore Aviation salutes the initiative of Inmarsat plc on their proposal provide a global airline tracking service free of cost.

The global satellite and communications major, has proposed to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a free global airline tracking service over the Inmarsat network. This service is offered to all 11,000 commercial passenger aircraft, which are already equipped with an Inmarsat satellite connection, i.e. virtually 100 per cent of the world’s long haul commercial airliners.

The initiative is in advance of a conference due to start this morning in Montreal, Canada which is expected to adopt a furtherance of aviation safety service measures by the world’s airlines following the loss of flight MH370.

In addition to the free global airline tracking service, Inmarsat will also offer an enhanced position reporting facility which will aid in reducing in-flight aircraft separation for dense environments, and a ‘black box in the cloud’ service, which can stream data from the flight data and cockpit voice recorder off the aircraft to defined recipients if certain defined “trigger events” occur, for example an unapproved flight path deviation.

Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat, said

“We welcome and strongly support ICAO’s decision to place the delivery of next-generation aviation safety services at the heart of the industry’s agenda at its meeting on 12th May. Inmarsat has been providing global aviation safety services for over 20 years and we are confident that the proposals we have presented to ICAO and IATA represent a major contribution to enhancing aviation safety services on a global basis. In the wake of the loss of MH370, we believe this is simply the right thing to do.

“Because of the universal nature of existing Inmarsat aviation services, our proposals can be implemented right away on all ocean-going commercial aircraft using equipment that is already installed. Furthermore, our leading aviation safety partners are fully supportive of expanded use of the ADS-C Service through the Inmarsat network. This offer responsibly, quickly and at little or no cost to the industry, addresses in part the problem brought to light by the recent tragic events around MH370.”

About Devesh Agarwal

A electronics and automotive product management, marketing and branding expert, he was awarded a silver medal at the Lockheed Martin innovation competition 2010. He is ranked 6th on Mashable's list of aviation pros on Twitter and in addition to Bangalore Aviation, he has contributed to leading publications like Aviation Week, Conde Nast Traveller India, The Economic Times, and The Mint (a Wall Street Journal content partner). He remains a frequent flier and shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about the Indian aviation industry without fear or favour.

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