Improvements to VHF air-to-ground communication

The communication between the ground based air traffic controller and the air crew has been based on the use of VHF and HF for many years, and this is a mature technology. This communication has been based on the use of an analogue voice channel. The main purpose of this communication has been for air traffic control, with the aircraft moving from sector to sector,and having a handover from one controller to the next. This enables the air crew to report their position, call sign and status, and for the air traffic controller to give appropriate and timely instructions to the air crew. As the aircraft fly worldwide there has been a need to have standards, with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) acting as the forum to aid the standardisation process. There have been a number of suggested changes to the communication with the aim of improving flight safety, and reducing the work load on the flight crew. This paper discusses the background to the VHF communication, some of the difficulties of the current systems and ways of providing interim solutions, and ways of changing the system to eliminate the problems.