The European Business Aviation Association is calling on the European Commission to provide the necessary additional regulatory and financial tools to help national and regional authorities implement Performance Based Navigation Rules (PBN-IR). EBAA secretary general Athar Husain Khan issued the call while speaking at the association's event entitled Business Aviation - Boosting Regional Opportunities and Connectivity.

PBN-IR opens the door to large deployment of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) based procedures. Business aviation is an early adopter of this technology and full implementation would increase airport access across Europe at a time when airport capacity is seen as one of its main transport challenges.

Khan says: “The development of EGNOS-based technologies is the best way to ensure safer access at secondary and tertiary airports in all weather conditions, and it makes infinite sense that this technology should be rolled out. Adoption of PBN implementing rules is an important step towards increased access to airports, but for this progress to become tangible, it is important that the commission and EASA support local and regional players in this transition. This is a concrete solution to the capacity challenges we see across the region. I therefore call on the European Commission to provide guidance to local authorities, and I hope that small and medium size businesses are provided with improved access to EU funding in the area of research and innovation.”

Shell Aircraft director of corporate aviation Stan Medved adds: “Innovative technologies on aircraft and at airports will open up a range of airports currently underserved, allowing business aviation to really bring their customers where they need to be anywhere in the region. ”

DG MOVE (European Commission) Aviation Safety Unit policy officer Jyrki Paajanen went on to explain: “Thanks to the air navigation strategy, we agreed with member states that we will roll out satellite-based navigation, including a compulsory programme of implementation of PBN approaches and decommissioning of old technologies.” And Airport Regions Conference secretary general Léa Bodossian acknowledges that business aviation and local communities do share common concerns. “From a regional perspective, connectivity is not simply from airport to airport but includes the duration of journey, the access time to the airport and the cost of journey,” she says. “Investments in new airport technologies will have to be evaluated under this broader light.”