LPV-200, an EGNOS Safety for Life (SoL) service, is now available to all European users

LPV-200 delivers accurate information on an aircraft’s approach to a runway with the use of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning technology. The result is lateral and angular vertical guidance without the need for visual contact with the ground until an aircraft is 200 feet above the runway. This represents an improvement of 50 feet from the previously available LPV-250. 

The LPV-200 service supports civil aviation operations during approaches to airports and helipads.

With LPV-200, passengers in Europe will see increased accessibility to airports as pilots can more safely land an aircraft in bad weather, reducing delays, diversions and cancellations. The more efficient landings allowed for by LPV-200 will also cut costs and fuel consumption, reducing the overall cost of air travel.

The Details

The EGNOS SoL service has been free and openly available since it was first introduced in March 2011. The service is compliant with AVP-1 (Approach with Vertical Guidance) signal in space requirements as defined by ICAO in Annex 10. The new LPV-200 service level is a key enabler in the implementation of the performance-based navigation (PBN) concept in Europe within the Single European Sky (SES) framework.

LPV-200 based approaches, lowered from LPV-250, guarantee all the advantages provided by an instrument landing system (ILS) approach with the airspace design flexibility of a PBN approach.

Benefits include:

• Increased airspace capacity and reduction of both air traffic control and pilot workload
• Improved efficiency of operations which lower CO2 emissions and decrease aviation’s environmental impact

The new EGNOS SoL Service offers approach procedures for both Type A and Type B 3D instrumentation. It provides both lateral and angular guidance, but does not require any visual contact with the ground until 200 feet above the runway.

More Information

The EGNOS SoL Service Definition Document (SDD) describing the characteristics and terms and conditions of access to the EGNOS SoL service offered to users, in particular for LPV-200, can be found at:

http://egnos-portal.gsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/uploads/Brochure_SoL2015_150924_HighDef.pdf (12 MB)