Qatar Airways to use space-based GlobalBeacon flight tracking solution

Qatar Airways has become the first airline to sign on for the Aireon-FlightAware flight tracking solution GlobalBeacon. Using Aireon’s spaced-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, Qatar Airways will be able to track its aircraft on a minute-by-minute basis starting in 2018. Aireon-generated data will be fed into FlightAware’s system, which includes information on a flight’s origin, destination, flight plan route, position and estimated time of arrival. Qatar Airways said GlobalBeacon will enable it to meet ICAO’s mandate that aircraft autonomously transmit location every minute during emergency circumstances, which is set to take effect in 2021. Aireon CE Don Thoma added that “no new avionics will be required” on Qatar’s fleet of 190 aircraft to enable GlobalBeacon. <br/>