DOT to keep aircraft tracking system in operation as backup for GPS

Airline Industry Information, March 8, 2002

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) will continue to keep its backup system to track aircraft in operation in a move to adequately backup global positioning systems (GPS), which can be blocked or jammed.

GPS uses a constellation of two dozen orbiting satellites as reference points to quickly and precisely calculate positions anywhere in the world. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to use it to safely pack more aircraft into the skies and allow precision landings in bad weather.

However, a DOT report in September 2001 concluded that air, rail, road and sea users of GPS technology should be prepared for outages and keep ground-based navigation aids on line as backup, as the GPS signal is susceptible to unintentional disruption from atmospheric effects, buildings and radio signals, reported Reuters.

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