Italian air navigation service provider ENAV and Leonardo recently tested and validated the performance-based navigation (PBN) procedure for the Foggia–Tremiti S. Domino Island route in the Apulia region in Southern Italy. This was carried out with an AW169 helicopter operated by Alidaunia, a company providing transport services to and from the Tremiti Islands, as well as emergency medical service missions that support the relevant local community.
PBN via advanced satellite navigation and aircraft avionics is combined with, or replaces, more traditional land-based radio navigation systems for airspace optimization, more direct routing, and greater approach and landing precision. ENAV and Leonardo announced their collaboration on the project, as well as their intent to offer helicopter PBN products worldwide, in October.
The Foggia-Tremiti S. Domino Island route is the first in a network that is being developed locally to support the helicopter operations of the regional heliport network called Rete Eliportuale Puglia. The successfully validated procedures are the result of a collaboration between Alidaunia and the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency in the framework of the PBN for HEMS in the Apulia Region project.