EGNOS: Good news for aviation

EGNOS, the 'European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service', is Europe's first step in satellite navigation. A forerunner of Galileo, EGNOS is a regional augmentation system that uses a network of ground stations and geo-stationary satellites to improve positions derived from the US-based GPS signal, increasing accuracy and alerting users about the reliability of the GPS signal. EGNOS will initially benefit the ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference) area, including EU Member States and countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Serbia, Croatia and Albania. It is expected to achieve full certification for aviation, including system certification and service provider certification, in 2009.