Turboprop manufacturer ATR is supporting expansion of performance-based navigation (PBN) procedures in Indonesia to safeguard operations at remote airfields. The EU is sponsoring a joint project between the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation and European Union Aviation Safety Agency to establish satellite-based approaches at additional airfields in the nation. ATR says it is contributing to the effort with provision of instructor and flight simulators at its facility in Singapore, to train flight instructors at customer airlines in the use of the technology. EASA executive director Patrick Ky recently visited the campus as part of the project, ATR notes. Where PBN is established, the technology enables pilots to fly previously visual approaches as instrumented procedures – under lateral and vertical guidance – with autopilot engaged. The airframer says PBN approaches have been published for Bajawa and Larantuka airfields, and that a third is in final stages for Atambua. Further locations are to be added to the list by year-end, ATR says. Chief executive Stefano Bortoli describes PBN as a "significant flight safety enhancement". He states: "We at ATR are working closely with EASA and other global authorities to promote its rollout. Everywhere in the world, our operators are providing essential connectivity to communities. Performance-based navigation ensures that these airlines meet the highest standards of operational excellence." ATR previously said that Asian operators serving airfields in remote locations and islands without much ground infrastructure are among its most relevant customers. Data shows that ATR operators in Indonesia include Trigana Air, Citilink Indonesia, Nam Air, Garuda Indonesia, Pelita Air Service and Wings Air. Some 81 ATRs are shown to be in service and another 32 in storage in the country. Indonesian operators have 24 ATRs on order.

Africa's largest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, looks set to return to pre-pandemic levels of activity imminently as it continues to ramp up capacity. Data shows that the carrier's number of flights amounted to 97% of 2019 levels on 22 May, or 225 services, up from around 80% at the start of the year. By seats, the airline operated 42,283 spaces on 22 May, which remains down from over 51,000 before the pandemic began in 2019, indicating that it is on average operating smaller aircraft. Ethiopian Airlines is easily maintaining its position as Africa's largest carrier too. Since the start of 2022, it has operated over 24,160 services, for example, against the 17,465 of the next largest in Africa, Egyptair. It is followed by over 13,000 services at Safair and 8,800 at Royal Air Maroc. In March, Ethiopian Airlines Group disclosed the appointment of a new chief executive, following the sudden retirement of Tewolde GebreMariam on health grounds. Under the 11-year long leadership of GebreMariam, Ethiopian rose to being the largest airline in Africa by passenger numbers, generating revenues of $4 billion in 2019 and carrying 12 million passengers per year.

Airbus has selected USA-based Honeywell’s flight management system (FMS) to meet the air traffic management needs of its future A320, A330 and A350 fleet. The FMS will be offered as a single standardised hardware and software platform that can be used across these aircraft fleet with expected entry into service by end of 2026, Honeywell says. It comes with electronic flight bags to ease pilot workload and enhance fuel savings with the use of real-time data. A retrofit solution based on the same core hardware and common software is also planned for the A320 and A330 fleet, Honeywell Aerospace’s president of electronic solutions Jim Currier states.

“The new FMS combines multiple current FMS offerings for Airbus into one single solution for their A320, A330 and A350 platforms,” Currier says. “Importantly, the new FMS hardware is 15 times more capable than current hardware and enables a path to future enhancements without hardware changes. Honeywell has been supplying flight management systems since Airbus’ first A300 went into service, and this win will extend our 35-year partnership well into the future.” Airbus also uses Honeywell’s FMS on its A320, A330, A350, and A380 platforms.