Performance-Based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS)

UPDATE ON PBCS REQUIREMENTS: Today 29 Mar 2018 is the deadline for the PBCS capability requirement that allows ATC to provide aircraft with reduced separations based on flight plan entries. Entries for block 10A are now required to show your Required Communication Performance. U.S. Part 91 operators have until 30 Sep 2018 to have the A056 approval reflect the PBCS capabilities.

P1 indicates CPDLC RCP400.

P2 indicates CPDLC RCP 240 (for 30 / 30 RNP 4).

P3 indicates SATVOICE RCP400 (for ATC intervention if not able to perform using RCP240).

RCP400 would be used for controller intervention capability supporting separation where separations greater than 30 / 30 cannot be applied or cannot be applied to a particular aircraft. For aircraft not equipped for RCP240, ATC cannot apply Performance-Based Separations.

Those being: 30 NM Longitudinal and Lateral Separations, and 5 min Longitudinal Separation (same Track). So how does ATC know what to give you for separation? The P's in block 10. ATC has been tracking performance of aircraft for a number of years now and starting 29 March 2018 they will base the aircraft separation purely on these flight plan entries. For U.S. Part 91 operators, this requirement has been pushed to 30 Sep 2018, but the operational results are the same. If the A056 has not been updated, then do not place P2 in the flight plan.

There is a Performance-Based Communication and Surveillance monitoring program in place that will report if an operator cannot meet RCP 240 and RSP180 standards. They look for things like failures, delayed messages, and conformity. The FAA along with ICAO gathers these monitoring results, with information fed from Oakland, Anchorage, New York, Reykjavik, Shanwick and Auckland.

Operators cannot receive reduced separations in the oceanic environment until the A056 has been re-issued to indicate conformance to PBCS standards; for oceanic that means RCP240 and RSP180 standards. In the U.S. that means VDL Mode 2 (tunable to multiple frequencies). If your A056 has not or will not be revised by 29 Mar 2018 (30 Sep 2018 for U.S. private operators), then ATC cannot provide the aircraft with reduced separations. CPDLC and ADS-C may still be used but with restrictions excluding these reduced separation applications.

Remember it is not a matter of whether you can use CPDLC. It is a matter of reduced separations being applied to the aircraft. Recommended steps:

1. Download AC 90-117 which gives guidance on Data Link Communications and go through it.
2. Download the A056 Compliance Guide.
3. If you currently hold an A056 approval that needs updating, go through the compliance guide and locate all the guidance that is for an existing A056 operator.
4. If you do not have a statement of compliance in the AFM indicating conformance with the standards supporting the Interop Designators, Subnetworks and Aircraft Allocated Performance, then ensure you do not include P2 in block 10A and SUR/RSP180 in block 18 of the ICAO flight plan.
5. In the meantime, submit your update to the A056 so as to re-gain the ability to use reduced separations.

Ramifications: You will not be able to get reduced separations based on Performance-Based Separations. For now this means no PBCS (RLatSM) Tracks FL350 to FL390 in the NAT. So if you can operate outside of the tracks with a 50 NM separation then no harm, no foul. Aircraft on a random route or an aircraft operating above FL390 should have minimum impact to their operations.

Note: The AFM Statement of Compliance will cover Interop Designators (FANS 1/A+, ATN B1, B2, ACARS ATS), Subnetworks (VDL M0 / A / 2, SATCOM), and Aircraft Allocated Performance (CPDLC: RCP130, RCP240, RCP400; ADS-C: RSP160, RSP180, RSP400).