Commercial passenger flights and business jets in South Africa can now have better access to important flight messages and data with newly-expanded ACARS data link coverage from ARINC Incorporated.

In cooperation with South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), ARINC recently installed a new VHF ACARS data link station at Cape Town, and inaugurated coverage in December. The new station will enable better in-flight data transfer and communications between airline operations and aircraft flight decks.

Cape Town International is South Africa’s second busiest airport and a major gateway for tourists. ARINC is expanding its data link coverage in advance of the 2010 World Cup, which will take place in South Africa during June and July.  Teams from 32 nations will play at eight different venues stretched across more than a thousand miles of South Africa.   An influx of international visitors and greatly increased air traffic are expected.

“Our Cape Town data link coverage is part of a series of major investments ARINC is making across the whole of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region,” stated Andy Wood, ARINC EMEA Program Director. “New station deployments like this one benefit our European-based airline customers such as Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa who fly to the African main bases, as well as many international airlines flying to Johannesburg, where we also provide VHF ACARS coverage.”

ARINC VHF ACARS data link service provides airlines with faster and more reliable operational messaging than traditional voice radio. Carriers using data link benefit from greater efficiency and on-time performance.

ARINC’s data link services are built on an integrated worldwide network of VHF and HF ground stations, along with Inmarsat and Iridium satellite networks, to provide seamless data communications to aircraft anywhere in the world. ARINC’s exclusive HFDL (High Frequency Data Link) service gives carriers such as South African Airways cost-effective global coverage across oceans, continents and polar regions while seamlessly interfacing with VHF and SATCOM communications.

ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 certified.