Brazilan airframer Embraer has secured regulatory approval in several jurisdictions for 120min extended twin-engine operations (ETOPS) for its new-generation E190-E2 and E195-E2 aircraft.
The company said on 14 March that Brazil’s Civil Aviation Authority ANAC, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have granted the 120min ETOPS permission. That achievement, it adds, speaks to the aircraft’s design and system maturity.
“ETOPS is an important additional capability for the E2, and a key enabler for more sales, especially in Asia Pacific,” Embraer commercial aircraft chief executive Arjan Meijer says.
Airlines flying routes with up to 120min diversion times, for example over water or other remote areas, will be able to use straighter, quicker and more fuel-efficient routes, and have access to more diversion airports, he adds.
The company had planned to achieve the milestone for certification earlier, but the global Covid-19 pandemic “significantly reduced” aircraft operations, thus extending the time during which the E2 fleet was able to reach cumulative required flying hours.
ETOPS was coined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to denote twin-engine aircraft operations in airspace further than 1h from a diversion airport at the one-engine-inoperative cruise speed, over water or remote lands, or on routes previously restricted to three- and four-engine aircraft.
