India, US working on navigation system

New Delhi: India and the US are working on a satellite-based navigation system to provide seamless travel across the Indian Ocean, Pacific and Atlantic in coming years as both are witnessing exponential air traffic growth, a top US aviation official said today.
Observing that the US would record one billion passengers in 2015 and traffic would triple by 2025, US Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion C Blakey said the "real issue was that we are not waiting to do something. We are preparing now" to evolve the next generation air transportation system.
The system is a package comprising comprehensive plans for air traffic management, airports, aircraft, security and advanced flight systems.
At the heart of this system is satellite-based navigation or Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), which is very similar to India's GAGAN (GPS and Geo Augmentation Navigation System), Blakey told a meeting with FICCI officials here.
14/11/06 Chennai Online

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