FAA Privacy ICAO Address affected aircraft systems
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The FAA’s Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) program was launched back in December 2019, providing operators a means to hide their movements. Privacy is not a new topic, since this was highlighted it in a previous Customer Forum & Newsletter in May 2017. However, PIA is different from the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) program that was formerly known as the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR).
The PIA program offers another avenue to address privacy concerns with the traceability that comes with ADS-B Mode S transponders, which emit the aircraft ICAO code enabling publicly available flight tracking. The PIA program also provides operators with flight tracking privacy by utilization of an alternate, ICAO address, which will not be assigned to the owner in the Civil Aviation Registry (CAR). This ICAO address used in the aircraft’s ADS-B avionics works in combination with the use of a unique callsign in the flight plan identification (FLT ID) provided by a third-party service provider.
The following requirements must be met to be eligible for the FAA’s PIA program: U.S. registered aircraft, 1,090 MHz ADS-B equipped, flying in domestic U.S. airspace (excludes oceanic airspace greater than 12 nautical miles (nm) from shore), finally approved/ authorized to use a third-party call sign(s). Basically, if you are planning an international flight, one would need to revert to their CAR ICAO address used by the transponders. On the other hand, the current ICAO code used by SATCOM systems remains unchanged under the PAI program, so this is not affected.
Operators should advise and coordinate with the Datalink Service Provider (DSP) when replacing the aircraft registration number with the third-party call sign in protecting information on the PIA program.
They should also review the support for Pre-Departure Clearance (PDC) or Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) services.
While the PIA program was launched several months ago, Bombardier did not receive request for assistance from its operators. However, more recently, a few operators and service providers have asked for guidance from Bombardier on the aircraft configuration level for PIA operation.
Consequently, Bombardier developed a checklist aimed to assist its operators, technicians regarding key items, systems that require configuration changes and Aircraft Maintenance Manual/Publication (AMM/AMP) references.
This information is located on Bombardier Customer Portal; search for Title: FAA PRIVACY ICAO ADDRESS (PIA) AFFECTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS - CHECKLIST
Please search here for more detailed information and instructions regarding:
Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) program refer: https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/equipadsb/privacy/
Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) program refer to: https://ladd.faa.gov/