Azul First in Americas to Deploy SITA OnAir’s Aircom FlightTracker

Azul has become the first airline in the Americas to deploy SITA OnAir’s Aircom FlightTracker which enables the airline to track flights in real time on every route.

“FlightTracker’s momentum is building rapidly as more and more airlines across the world start using it to meet industry requirements for tracking each and every flight at all times,” said Ian Dawkins, CEO of SITA OnAir.

From its beginnings in 2008, Azul has used SITA OnAir Aircom technology, making the addition of FlightTracker a simple software upgrade to the ground-based server.

Now Azul can track its entire fleet of Embraer 190 and 195s, ATR 72-600s and Airbus A330s. The A320neos and A350s that Azul has on order will also be tracked as soon as they enter service.

FlightTracker uses multiple sources of data, including air traffic control information, terrestrial and satellite feeds, and the airline’s flight plans, to provide real-time aircraft position monitoring. These include the Department of Airspace Control’s air traffic management network, which is managed by SITA.

FlightTracker generates automatic alerts when an aircraft goes outside pre-determined parameters, giving flight controllers full information at all times.

“Our flight tracking brief, through ICAO and IATA, was two-fold,” added Dawkins. “Flight operations teams need to be able to follow aircraft positions and identify any unexpected deviations or gaps in position reports, while using existing equipment and procedures, without adding significant cost. We can also exceed the initial specification for reports every 15 minutes, depending on an airline’s requirements.”

Aircom FlightTracker is used in every phase of the flight, and more frequent reports can also be provided, for example in the case of an emergency.