Malaysia Airlines to track aircraft minute by minute in real time

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines will become the first airline in the world that will be able to track its aircraft minute by minute in real time globally.
Malaysia Airlines chief operating officer Captain Izham Ismail said they were proud to be the first airline to adopt this solution using space-based ADS-B data as part of Sitaonair's Aircom® FlightTracker.
"Real-time global aircraft tracking has long been a goal of the aviation community," he said.
Malaysia Airlines' aircraft operations centre will receive real-time position updates of its airborne fleet globally.
"With the addition of the AireonSM data, via FlightAware, to Sitaonair's Aircom® FlightTracker, combined with our active monitoring and automated alerting capabilities, Malaysia Airlines will be at the cutting-edge of real-time flight-tracking technology," Aircom®, at Sitaonair portfolio director Paul Gibson said.
"With access to up-to-the-minute reporting, Malaysia Airlines will know the location, heading, speed and altitude of all aircraft in its fleet, at all times, and be alerted to any exceptions," he said in a statement today.
FlightAware chief executive officer Daniel Baker said in addition to not requiring any new avionics or modifications to their aircraft, Malaysia Airlines will seamlessly gain real-time flight tracking ability of its fleet.
He added this will be even possible in areas where regional Air Navigation Service Providers do not have full surveillance.
"The result will be that Malaysia Airlines will have greater visibility of its aircraft's exact location," he said.
Aireon chief executive officer Don Thoma said Malaysia Airlines has taken a lead role in the industry since the tragic events of 2014 when MH370 which was on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared.
The fate of the plane and those on board is unknown till today.
He said real-time, global flight tracking, anywhere on the planet will further its safety goals, by allowing Malaysia Airlines to track its aircraft anytime, anywhere.
In November 2016, Aireon, FlightAware and Sitaonair announced a new partnership to deliver Aireon data via FlightAware to Sitaonair customers.
Aireon's space-based ADS-B data will also resolve any existing data feed coverage gaps that remain, particularly over oceanic and remote airspace, where there is currently no surveillance.
The Aireon system is expected to be operational in 2018, airlines and using Sitaonair's Aircom® FlightTracker will automatically begin seeing the new Aireon data appear in their systems.