The ATR 72-600 regional aircraft, comprising the new Thales avionics suite, has just been awarded EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) certification. The ATR-600 is the most modern regional aircraft on the market today, thanks to its avionics suite which simplifies flight management. Royal Air Maroc will be the first airline to take delivery of the ATR 72-600.

Since 2007, Thales has been working on the new cockpit for the ATR -600 series as a tier- one systems integrator. Within the framework of this contract, Thales has developed a modular avionics architecture comprising a cockpit equipped with five wide-screen LCD displays, a Flight Management System (FMS) and a latest-generation automatic pilot system. The avionics suite incorporates the most highly-advanced communication and navigation systems. Furthermore, the ATR-600 is the first regional aircraft to feature an AFDX (Avionics Full Duplex Switched Ethernet) network.

Thanks to the ergonomic design of the new avionics suite, the ATR 72-600 provides a working environment that has been considerably simplified for pilots. Throughout flight tests, the ATR-600 notably demonstrated the high-level reliability of its navigation management system in heavy air traffic conditions. Landing procedures have also been optimised to shorten holding periods.

Michel Mathieu, Senior Vice President of Thales Avionics, explains: "I would like to salute the work carried out in close conjunction by ATR and Thales teams that has resulted in this success. EASA certification of our avionics suite consolidates our systems supplier role in this field, in synergy with other activities throughout Thales."

Filipo Bagnato, CEO of ATR, also states that "I am satisfied with the team-work that, over the past year in particular, has enabled efforts to be focused on achieving this very important goal."