SmartSky Networks, the provider of next-generation inflight connectivity solutions for aviation, today announced that it is collaborating with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to bring its open, commercial-ready digital services to IATA’s new turbulence mitigation platform, Turbulence Aware.
IATA’s Turbulence Aware platform is helping airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence, a leading cause of passenger and crew injuries and higher fuel costs each year, by pooling and sharing anonymized turbulence data from multiple participating airlines and thousands of daily flights.
SmartSky’s strong business aviation ties will significantly broaden the scope of those who benefit from IATA’s turbulence management program, as SmartSky aims to enable business jet-reported turbulence data for the first time. Business aviation flights are not currently providing automated turbulence reports, therefore, this important development will be instrumental in growing global live turbulence coverage beyond the data currently received from commercial airlines. Business aviation companies can now be alerted to turbulence for all phases of flight planning and operations.
Powered by SmartSky’s service-oriented framework, Skytelligence™, and maximized over the SmartSky ATG network, the turbulence service will enable business aviation service providers and operators to incorporate turbulence data into a variety of applications. Pilots, crew, and control centers will use the service to improve the safety of flight operations, while passengers will experience smoother, more efficient flights.
“SmartSky and IATA have teamed to expand the reach of this critical mission dedicated to tackling turbulence and providing safer and smoother commercial and business flights for passengers and crew,” said Haynes Griffin, SmartSky Chairman and CEO. “Our open framework, Application Programming Interfaces, and Skytelligence developer hub, are a catalyst for creativity and innovations that ultimately drive a better-connected air travel experience.”
“The IATA-SmartSky Networks partnership represents an important milestone in our global Turbulence Aware initiative, whose number of participating airlines is growing every week and as we broaden the scope to also include business aviation,” said Katya Vashchankova, Head of Meteorological Program for IATA.