IndiGo becomes first airline to use indigenous navigation system GAGAN while landing

The IndiGo flight had GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN), which has been jointly developed by the Centre-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and ISRO, as reported by PTI.

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IndiGo becomes the first airline in Asia to land its aircraft using the indigenous navigation system GAGAN, with Localiser Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) approach according to a statement issued on April 28.

"This is a huge leap for Indian Civil Aviation and a firm step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat, as India becomes the third country in the world to have their own SBAS system after the USA and Japan.

The flight was conducted using an ATR-72 aircraft and landed at the Kishangarh airport in Rajasthan on Wednesday (April 27) morning, using GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN), which has been jointly developed by the Centre-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the statement issued by IndiGo said.

"GAGAN will be a game-changer for civil aviation, leading to modernisation of the airspace, reducing flight delays, bringing in fuel savings and improving flight safety," Ronojoy Dutta, whole-time director and CEO, IndiGo, said in a statement.

GAGAN is used to provide lateral and vertical guidance when an aircraft is approaching a runway for landing. Its precision is especially useful at small airports where the instrument landing system (ILS) has not been installed.

This test flight is a part of the approval process with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which includes training of pilots, validation of approach, simulator sessions among others.

LPV capability provides the airline operators a precise and near-precision instrument approach option with the lowest minima relative to other approach options, when Instrument Landing System (ILS) is either not installed or unavailable, especially in case of the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) airports.

The GAGAN is designed to provide the additional accuracy, availability, and integrity necessary to enable users to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, from en route through approach for all qualified airports within the GAGAN service volume. It will also provide the capability for increased accuracy in position reporting, allowing for more uniform and high-quality Air Traffic Management (ATM).

"In India's civil aviation sector, GAGAN will modernize the airspace, reduce flight delays, save fuel and improve flight safety," the statement said. The DGCA has issued a mandate for all aircraft registered in India after July 1, 2021, to be fitted with GAGAN equipment, it added.

(With inputs from PTI)