Across a vast stretch of Caribbean and Atlantic airspace, Trinidad and Tobago is changing how aircraft are monitored, separated and transferred between control centres.
The transformation of the Piarco Flight Information Region is not centred on a single technology. Ground- and space-based surveillance, digital communications and increasingly flexible routing are being introduced together, as the region prepares for continued traffic growth and more efficient use of its airspace.
The Piarco FIR handled 118,271 flights in 2025, up from 112,705 a year earlier, an increase of almost 5%. Another 32,203 movements were recorded during the first three months of 2026.
Beyond conventional radar
One of the most visible changes is in surveillance.
On June 29, 2026, the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority formally implemented Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, and multilateration as surveillance sources within its automated Air Traffic Management system.
The development adds new layers to a surveillance environment that also includes Secondary Surveillance Radar.
Ground-based ADS-B receives position and other information transmitted directly by equipped aircraft, while multilateration determines an aircraft’s position using signals received at several ground stations. Their role is particularly relevant as Piarco seeks both greater coverage and redundancy.
The first phase of the ground-based ADS-B and multilateration network has already been completed in Trinidad and Tobago. A second phase, involving installations at strategic high sites across the Eastern Caribbean, is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2026.
But the most consequential development may be taking place above the ground network.
Space-based ADS-B data has also been integrated into Piarco’s ATM system, extending surveillance possibilities over continental and oceanic airspace. Full implementation is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to site acceptance tests, regulatory requirements and operational staff training.
For an FIR with extensive oceanic sectors, this matters. Conventional terrestrial surveillance has inherent geographical limitations offshore. Receiving aircraft position information through satellites can provide another layer of situational awareness where building a dense network of ground infrastructure is impractical.
From 100 nautical miles to 50
Better surveillance is also intended to support one of Piarco’s most significant operational changes.
Trinidad and Tobago is working to reduce lateral separation in the Piarco Oceanic Sector from 100 nautical miles to 50 NM.
The project combines Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications, or CPDLC, with the planned operational use of space-based ADS-B. Simulations and live-traffic trials are now scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, with full implementation targeted for the first quarter of 2027, or potentially earlier.
The distinction is important: the 50-NM separation is not yet operational. It remains a programme moving through testing and implementation.
Its potential impact, however, is straightforward.
Large separation requirements protect aircraft when the air traffic system has less immediate information about their exact position. Improvements in surveillance and digital communications can allow controllers to manage aircraft more precisely while maintaining the required level of safety.
For operators, that can translate into more efficient use of available airspace, greater capacity and improved access to suitable routes or flight levels. Trinidad and Tobago also expects the change to create opportunities to reduce some flight distances and improve overall airspace efficiency.
Connecting the control centres
Modernising what controllers can see is only part of the equation. Piarco is also changing how information moves between air navigation service providers.
Air Traffic Services Inter-Facility Data Communications, known as AIDC, enables systems in neighbouring control centres to exchange operational information electronically, reducing dependence on more manual coordination as aircraft move from one FIR to another.
Piarco Area Control Centre and the United States’ New York Air Route Traffic Control Center reached full AIDC implementation in December 2025.
The next connections could make the system increasingly regional.
French Guiana, Puerto Rico, Senegal and Portugal have expressed interest in AIDC testing with Trinidad and Tobago. Work has already begun with the San Juan Combined Control Facility, with implementation targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
That cross-border component is particularly important for Caribbean aviation. Efficiency gains inside one FIR have limits if aircraft encounter less integrated procedures each time they cross into neighbouring airspace.
Piarco’s modernisation therefore increasingly depends not only on technology installed within Trinidad and Tobago, but also on interoperability with the air navigation systems around it.
The next step is more flexible routing
The transformation also extends to the structure of the routes aircraft fly.
Trinidad and Tobago already approves limited Strategic Direct Routing operations, allowing selected flights to file more direct waypoint-to-waypoint routings rather than relying exclusively on conventional fixed airways.
The Civil Aviation Authority sees these operations as part of a broader transition towards Free Route Airspace, in which aircraft can gain greater flexibility in selecting efficient trajectories through controlled airspace.
Piarco has previously approved waypoint-to-waypoint requests for carriers including American Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, GOL, LATAM and United Airlines.
The supporting infrastructure is also evolving. In early 2026, Piarco’s VHF communications system moved from analogue to Internet Protocol circuits, a change that Trinidad and Tobago says creates the conditions for more formal and structured direct-routing trials within its continental airspace.
The direction of travel is therefore broader than replacing one surveillance technology with another.
Piarco is progressively moving from a system built around conventional radar coverage, fixed routes and more procedural oceanic separation towards one combining multiple surveillance sources, digital coordination and increasingly flexible airspace use.
For Caribbean aviation, the significance may ultimately lie in how those elements work together.
If the planned 50-NM oceanic separation moves successfully from trials in late 2026 to implementation in 2027, Piarco will provide one of the region’s clearest practical examples of how satellite surveillance and digital air traffic management can unlock additional efficiency without expanding the physical infrastructure on the ground.
Source : International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — Trinidad and Tobago Updates on Air Navigation Services in the Piarco FIR, SAT/IMG7 & SOG7, 2026.
