UK and Canada launch satellite-based plane tracking system, in bid to avert another MH370

A satellite air traffic surveillance system capable of tracking aircraft anywhere around the planet has been launched. The system, which will start by tracking planes over the North Atlantic, has been developed to fill the holes in radar coverage – some 70% of global airspace – that became apparent following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 five years ago. UK and Canadian air traffic control services will be the first to try out the system. “For the first time in history, we can surveil all ADS-B-equipped aircraft anywhere on Earth,” said Don Thoma, CE of Aireon, the firm which has developed the new system. Automatic dependent surveillance broadcast, which is used in the US and other airspace, automatically determines a plane’s location by satellite and broadcasts it. Planes will now be able to update constantly anywhere on Earth, by using the 66 satellites in the Iridium satellite constellation, enabling real-time tracking worldwide. Most modern passenger jets – including the Boeing 777 of flight MH370 – are fitted with the transponders. The planes have until now broadcast their position every 10 to 15 minutes via satellite when flying over the ocean, with a single, short data transmission. Thoma said the new system would “radically optimise flight safety and efficiency”. As well as improving safety, tracking planes across ocean airspace that was previously invisible to controllers will allow airlines to fly more efficiently, Aireon said. It claimed that could save airlines up to US$300 and two tonnes of CO2 emissions on every transatlantic flight.<br/>