Now that controller-pilot data link communication (CPDLC) capability is deployed in 11 of the 20 air route traffic control centers in the U.S., NBAA and GAMA are asking the FAA “to restore full availability of en route data link communications for all equipped general aviation aircraft.” In 2019, the FAA requested a stop to the use of en route CPDLC by general aviation aircraft, which was followed by the restoration of some service under the agency’s U.S. Domestic Enroute CPDLC Avionics Trial. “However,” according to the associations, “confusion escalated…after the FAA closed that program to new aircraft last year.”
In a March 31 letter to FAA Air Traffic Organization COO Timothy Arel and David Boulter, acting associate administrator for the FAA Aviation Safety Office, NBAA and GAMA asked for an update by April 30. The associations are also seeking information on acceptable performance standards for CPDLC for all operators and a timetable for the publication of guidance documents.
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