India’s first satellite-guided commercial jet landing marks aviation milestone

New Delhi: In a major milestone for Indian aviation, an IndiGo Airbus A320 has completed the country’s first satellite-guided landing by a commercial jet using India’s home-grown GAGAN navigation system.

The demonstration, overseen by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), marks a significant step towards expanding precision landings at airports without expensive ground-based navigation infrastructure.

The June 27 flight used a Satellite-Based Landing System (SLS) approach instead of the conventional Instrument Landing System (ILS). While IndiGo’s ATR turboprop aircraft had previously demonstrated the technology, this was the first time it was successfully used on a commercial jet, Indian media reports said.

For passengers, the landing would have felt no different. But instead of relying on radio signals transmitted from equipment installed at the airport, the Airbus A320 was guided by satellite-corrected navigation signals.

The achievement is expected to improve aviation safety and operational efficiency, particularly at smaller airports that lack Instrument Landing Systems because of their high installation and maintenance costs. The satellite-based approach can also serve as a backup when ILS equipment is unavailable due to maintenance or technical issues.

The aircraft performed a Localiser Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) approach, which provides pilots with precise horizontal and vertical guidance to the runway, offering accuracy comparable to an ILS approach without requiring specialised landing equipment on the ground.

The technology is powered by GAGAN —s hort for GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation — India’s Satellite-Based Augmentation System jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Unlike GPS or India’s regional navigation system NavIC, GAGAN does not determine an aircraft’s position on its own, NDTV reported. Instead, it continuously corrects GPS errors and verifies the reliability of navigation signals before transmitting the improved data to aircraft through ISRO’s GSAT-8 and GSAT-10 geostationary satellites.

This is particularly important because GPS signals can be distorted while passing through the ionosphere, especially over India, making ordinary GPS insufficient for guiding commercial aircraft during precision landings.

To overcome this, GAGAN relies on a nationwide network of precisely surveyed ground reference stations that continuously monitor GPS accuracy, calculate corrections and send them via satellite to aircraft in real time. The system also provides what pilots call “integrity”—the ability to detect unreliable navigation data within seconds and immediately alert flight crews.

IndiGo first introduced LPV operations on its ATR fleet in 2022 and has since expanded Satellite-Based Augmentation System-enabled capability across its fleet. The Airports Authority of India has already published 23 LPV approach procedures, with the number expected to exceed 40 by the end of the year.

As more airports adopt LPV procedures and more aircraft become equipped for satellite-based approaches, GAGAN is expected to play a central role in making Indian aviation safer, more efficient and less dependent on costly ground-based navigation systems.

According to ISRO, the indigenous system is designed not only to improve precision landings but also to enable more efficient air traffic management and seamless compatibility with similar satellite navigation augmentation systems used around the world.