2023 AGENDA

easyJet and leading Air Navigation Service Providers are supporting the commercial service introduction of the first pan-European air traffic management datalink, Iris.

Iris, European Space Agency's (ESA) ground-breaking air traffic management (ATM) modernisation programme will enter commercial service in 2023. Powered by Inmarsat's innovative and award-winning ELERA network, Iris is a space-based communication datalink solution that will relieve the pressure on ground-based VHF communications.

The secure satellite datalink delivers high-speed bandwidth for real-time communication, allowing aircraft, and their 4-dimensional time-based predicted trajectories, to be shared with air traffic controllers for more precise and efficient flight operations. It will also alleviate pressure on ground-based radio frequencies currently used for ATM communications, which will be under significant capacity stress in the next 5-10 years.

By providing an uncongested communication service, Iris enables the latest ATM standards to be available to Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) and airline pilots for improved, modernised ATM. Iris delivers - Air Traffic Network (ATN) IP-based protocols that enable 4D trajectory-based operations and extended projected profile (EPP) to deliver CO2 savings on each Iris connected flight. These technologies enable safer constant-descent approaches (CDA), avoiding the less efficient ‘dive and drive’ traditional method of approach. CDAs are also considered safer as they remove ‘stepdowns’ which require multiple thrust, pitch and altitude adjustments - increasing pilot workload and potential errors during a critical phase of flight.