Latvia Enhances Pilot Briefing Services with FREQUENTIS’ Online and Mobile Application
Latvian Air Navigation Services, Latvijas Gaisa Satiksme (LGS) selected Frequentis California to enhance its pilot briefing services to increase flight planning efficiency and safety, as well as ease of use for pilots. The Frequentis Integrated Briefing System, smartIBS, was put into operation on Dec. 3. The system includes new tools to ease pilot access to airspace and weather information, as well as cybersecurity upgrades, and is accessible via web browsers, smartphones and tablets.
The application, developed by Frequentis, is available for Apple iOS and Android platforms and has been available via the respective app stores since December. smartIBS combines flight planning and briefings for flights operating on both instrument flight rules (IFR) and visual flight rules (VFR).
Through the online service, users can access all pilot briefing functionality to file, change, cancel or delay a flight plan, track flight plans and related messages, validate flight plans by the EUROCONTROL IFPS or obtain route proposals from EUROCONTROL and see and interactively edit all filed plans on the route map. It also allows the retrieval of NOTAM and weather information. The system also comes with tools which allow briefing officers to assist pilots with their flight plan submissions through online assistance and chat.
“The LGS internet briefing system provides an important service to the pilot community in Latvia, we plan to serve about one thousand users and more than ten thousand flight plans per year. With the implementation of the latest generation of smartIBS we have got not only the set of new functionalities for our Clients, but also receive cybersecurity enhancements to ensure secure and continuous services to the pilots and to meet the EU and the Latvian cybersecurity regulations,” said Vladislavs Chaschins, deputy technical manager.
The cybersecurity enhancements on the recent upgrade include server operating system hardening, encrypted communication and authenticated secure data exchange. The mobile apps are secured by PIN or TouchID or FaceID authentication. smartIBS also comes with a new set of SWIM compliant web service interfaces, allowing service subscribers to access flight plan, NOTAM and weather information.
“smartIBS allows for increased efficiency in pre-flight planning stages and safety throughout the entire pre-flight and inflight timeline by enabling more timely access to information required along the route of travel. Frequentis is pleased that LGS has again put its trust in our organisation for the deployment of this critical system to meet their goals for efficiency and safety goals. Frequentis and LGS have collaborated in the design and development of a number of applications since 2003 and will continue to do so with future system enhancements,” said John Fort, CEO Frequentis California.
