A developing theme of long-haul operations is the desire for non-stop services between large centres of population and business areas. The delivery of modern aircraft with such long-range capability is evidence of airline commercial objectives and plainly demands improvements to the way in which air traffic is managed. There is now an opportunity to change radically the way in which over-flights are managed and operated. It is imperative to increase capacity in step with demand as it is the limitation in capacity that is fast limiting an expansion of the business.

The availability of an aeronautical mobile satellite service and the emergence of a global navigation satellite system should enable CNS services to be established for civil aviation, virtually worldwide. This paper discusses how the development of a low-cost ADS system, employing these satellite services, might be used to the advantage of European air traffic management (ATM). It indicates that the earlier action is taken, the greater will be the potential benefits. This paper is an updated version of that presented at the NAV94 Conference in November 1994.