TORONTO—Pilots on transatlantic flights will soon be able to communicate with air controllers through instant text messaging.
Nav Canada, which runs Canada’s air navigation system, announced a major upgrade to its communications capabilities over the Atlantic Ocean. The changes will take pressure off the high-frequency radio transmissions pilots have traditionally used to relay their positions to air traffic controllers every few hundred miles. High-frequency radio voice transmission can be unreliable because the signals often fade in and out.
The text messages will be transmitted almost instantly by satellite. Each day, 800 to 1,100 transatlantic flights pass through Canadian airspace, which extends halfway across the ocean. That represents about 85 percent of all flights between North America and Europe.
Nav Canada would not disclose how much it is investing in the upgrades. It wants to keep that information private because it is in talks to sell its technology to foreign air navigation systems. About 30 percent of aircraft are expected to be ready to take advantage of the new technology over the near term.
