EGNOS Safety of Life (SoL) Service
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What is the EGNOS SoL Service?
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What does it do?
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Where is it used?
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EUSPA's role
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Facts & Figures
What is the EGNOS SoL Service?
The EGNOS Safety of Life (SoL) Service offers more precise GNSS signals in situations where human lives depend on them.
Launched: 2011
Sectors: Aviation, Rail, Maritime, Road
Purpose: To provide higher accuracy, integrity and continuity of GNSS signals when human lives are at stake.
What does it do?
The EGNOS SoL Service is mainly designed for civil aviation. Specifically, it enables such applications as localiser performance with vertical guidance (LPV) operations, which allow equipped aircraft to perform precision approaches down to 200 feet.
To achieve this, the service uses a combination of:
Where is it used?
The EGNOS SoL Service enhances aviation safety by enabling aircraft to make precision approaches with vertical guidance. In doing so, it helps reduce delays, diversions, and cancellations while also lowering operational costs.
EGNOS SoL is also used in:
EUSPA's role
- Manages and promotes the use of EGNOS SoL in various sectors
- Ensures the service meets stringent safety and performance standards
- Works with regulatory authorities for service authorisations (e.g. ICAO)
Facts & Figures
- By enabling LPV operations, the EGNOS SoL allows aircraft to perform precision approaches down to 200 feet (or 60 meters), for pilots to evaluate if the visibility is good enough to continue the landing process.
- There are currently over 1,000 LPV runway approaches across Europe, an increase of more than 40% in the last four years.
- With LPV approaches, aircraft can land at airports where traditional ground-based equipment might not be available, such as small airports and those in rural areas.
- LPV approaches help pilots access airports even in poor weather conditions, which results in fewer delays and cancellations.
- These optimised flight routes have an environmental benefit too, as they can reduce CO2 emissions.