EGNOS Services Provider, ESSP and Sligo North West Airport have recently signed an EGNOS Working Agreement (EWA), as a key step for the implementation of EGNOS-based approach procedures at this aerodrome. The agreement was signed on March 2017 by Joe Corcoran, Managing Director of Sligo North West Airport Airport and Thierry Racaud, ESSP CEO.

The signature of an EGNOS Working Agreement establishes the operational and legal framework to use theEGNOS Safety-of-Life Service as a navigation aid between the EGNOS Service Provider – ESSP - and the Airport / Navigation entity willing to use this service. The EWA is the step prior to the publication of SBAS approaches that offer similar performance to ILS CAT 1.

Thierry Racaud, ESSP CEO stated “Warm welcome for a new EGNOS stakeholder at European skies. Sligo North West Airport is now ready to benefit from the publication of EGNOS-based procedures. This will allow to carry out approaches to a higher degree of safety than offered by the existing visual approach during low cloud base operation, improving airports’ accessibility, especially in case of bad weather conditions”.

Joe Corcoran, Managing Director of Sligo Airport added: “the principal drivers for LPV publication are, safety and efficiency associated with 3D geometric approaches as we currently have NDB/DME NPAs published for Sligo. These will lead to a significant reduction in OCH minima, providing greater accessibility for existing operators & attracting new business when combined with the Irish Aviation Authority’s en-route airspace policy for direct routing. There will also be a community benefit associated withimproved safety and efficiency of SAR operations based at the Airport".

Following stakeholder consultation, independent verification of the draft IFP designs, safety assessment, regulatory approval and flight checking, we hope to be in a position to release the LPV Approaches for use by mid-2018.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ESSP team and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) for their assistance in our LPV Project”