GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation System) and GLS (GBAS Landing System) is a GNSS (GPS) based approach and monitoring system that utilises a local airport facility to increase the accuracy and integrity of the position of an aircraft both vertically and laterally to support a Precision Approach.
This system is in operation or in trial at many airports globally including Newark, Charleston, Houston and Moses Lake in the United States, Sydney in Australia, Bremen and Frankfurt in Germany, and Malaga in Spain.
The FAA is currently working on design approval for GLS for CAT III operations, and operations can be expected to commence when aircraft are certified for GLS CAT-III.
The purpose of this Briefing Leaflet is not to give too much in-depth technical information, but to enable IFALPA members an overview of the GLS and GBAS, how it works, the systems requirements on the ground and in the aircraft, and a pilot’s perspective on the system.
