Air China’s RNP Validation Flight in A319

Air China, with support from Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Naverus, successfully completed a Performance-based Navigation (PBN) validation flight to Linzhi Airport in an Airbus A319. This successful flight, conducted on Sept. 2, comes just two months after Air China contracted Naverus to design the route and nearly three years to the day after the first successful RNP flight was flown into Linzhi using a Naverus-designed procedure for an Air China B-757.  The validation flight utilized Required Navigation Performance (RNP) departures and approaches. RNP is an advanced form of PBN.   The RNP procedures will allow Air China to begin scheduled service with its fleet of A319s into the mountainous Linzhi airport in the Tibet Autonomous region of China.  Linzhi Airport, completed in 2006, is located at an elevation of 9,760 feet and is nestled among the towering 17,000-20,000 foot Himalayan Mountains.  The 95-mile RNP approach is one of the longest and most challenging commercial jetliner landing paths.  RNP is necessary for successful commercial operations at the airport, because without RNP, Linzhi is accessible by air only 100 days a year, in daylight only, due to weather and terrain challenges.