To meet operational and airworthiness requirements applicable to ICAO PBN specifications, Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) implemented Global Navigation Satellite Systems equipment changes last week for all aircraft flying in the country, regardless of state of registry. These changes include the requirement that all aircraft operating under IFR must now be equipped with GNSS avionics meeting TSO C129, which enables compliance with RNP 1 terminal area and RNP 2 continental en route operations that begin May 26.
To assist foreign-registered aircraft operators in meeting the new requirements, transition arrangements are available for a two-year period. Operators intending to take advantage of the extension must complete an online form before their first flight in Australia on or after May 26. To facilitate RNP operations within Australia, CASA developed an acceptable means of compliance document. The GNSS mandate will see ground-based navigation capability reduced by about 50 percent, with the decommissioning of some 190 ground-based navaids. The remaining network of navaids will form the GNSS backup navigation network.