EGNOS augments the U.S. GPS system for safer skies

The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is the first pan-European satellite navigation system. It augments the US GPS satellite navigation system and makes it suitable for safety critical applications such as flying aircraft.

EGNOS is a joint project of ESA, the European Commission and Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.

It is Europe's first activity in the field of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and is a precursor to Galileo, the full global satellite navigation system being currently built in Europe.

EGNOS operations are now managed by the European Commission through a contract with an operator based in France, the European Satellite Services Provider.

The EGNOS Safety of Live service has been officially declared available for aviation in 2011.

This video, produced by the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency, explains the interest of EGNOS and the recent improvements for landing procedures.