IndiGo became the first airline in the country to land aircraft using the country's own navigation system, GAGAN.
According to a statement released by IndiGo, the flight was conducted using an ATR-72 aircraft and landed at the Kishangarh airport in Rajasthan on Wednesday morning, using GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN), which was jointly developed by the Centre-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
“In India's civil aviation sector, GAGAN will modernise the airspace, reduce flight delays, save fuel and improve flight safety," the statement stated.
When a flight approaches a runway for landing, GAGAN is utilised to provide lateral and vertical guidance. Its accuracy is especially important at tiny airports without an instrument landing system (ILS).
This is a big step forward for Indian Civil Aviation and a strong step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat, as India joins the United States and Japan as the third country in the world to have its own SBAS system.
