Press Release
Issued by Collins Aerospace ARINCDirect.
September 21, 2010
ARINC DirectSM today announced it has deployed a new air/ground communications station at busy London Oxford Airport, serving north-west London and the Thames Valley region. The new VHF Data Link station will help ARINC to meet growing demand for its GLOBALinkSM/VHF service.
Positioned only 40 miles from greater London, Oxford Airport is among the fastest growing business aviation airports in the UK. The new ARINC station will enhance both air and ground coverage for customers of ARINC's GLOBALink/VHF service over a significant portion of the British Midlands.
ARINC worked closely with the Oxford Airport operations team to include VHF data link service as part of a wide-ranging series of communications upgrades at the airport.
"ARINC is making this investment today to serve a growing base of business and corporate aircraft in EMEA who are now using data link," stated Andy Hubbard, Managing Director, EMEA. "We thank the directors of Oxford Airport for the full cooperation they have extended to us. The added coverage from this new station will benefit not only business aviation but many commercial airlines as well."
"We are delighted to have this new ground station now in use for visiting business jets and regional airlines flying into Oxford Airport," said Airport Director Mike Sparrow. "It will make for far greater communications among the high number of ARINC-equipped aircraft serving our airport—between flight crews, engineering departments and air traffic service providers. ARINC's flight operations applications, such as graphical weather descriptions, electronic charts, and engine/aircraft health monitoring programs, will heighten flight efficiency and safety."
Significantly, Oxford Airport is the first business aviation airport in the UK to install the system. A major contributor to growth of business aviation at Oxford is ARINC customer Hangar 8, a major provider of aircraft charter and management, with four centers operating in the UK and fleet bases at airports at Nice, Kiev, Moscow and Dubai.
Introduced by ARINC in 1978, data link provides improved operational control of aircraft compared with voice radio, and reduces the need for voice radio usage by airlines in the world's crowded airspaces. Today data link is also being adopted increasingly by operators of large corporate and business aircraft. A newer, related technology—VDL Mode2—is set to become a mandated requirement in Europe in January 2011.