Australian air navigation service provider Airservices Australia is in discussions with operators that provide fly-in, fly-out charter services for mine companies in Western Australia (WA) on an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) trial to be run in the state next year.
The trial would contribute to the service provider's case for an extension of its existing ADS-B programme. Airservices Australia is already implementing ADS-B above flight level 300 in a programme that involves the installation of ADS-B ground stations throughout the country to provide radar-like surveillance. The service provider had proposed extending ADS-B coverage below FL300 in a move that would require the country's general aviation fleet to be equipped with ADS-B avionics. However, that programme stalled in 2006 when it became clear that some parts of the industry and government required more information, particularly relating to cost issues. Last year saw the release of a consultation paper that included a proposal for a cross-industry subsidy scheme for the acquisition and installation of ADS-B avionics for GA operators.
Airservices chief executive officer Greg Russell says "a lot of work" has been done on the "highly complex issue" and a recommendation on a subsidy scheme will be presented to the minister of transport in the next few weeks.
The WA trial would provide Airservices with "a better understanding of what is required" with the lower airspace programme, as well as providing improved surveillance for WA's booming mining charter market. ADS-B ground stations are currently deployed at 14 sites in Australia, with eight of these in WA and more due to come on line in the state before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, nationwide ADS-B coverage above FL300 will be available in 2009 - four years later than originally planned. Russell conceded at the Australian Airports Association national convention earlier this week that the programme, which required rebuilding the country's communication network from analogue to digital, was "much more complex than we first understood". Despite the delay, Australia will still be the first country in the world to roll out nationwide ADS-B coverage, says Russell.
Source: Flight International
