From its beginnings as the origin of the EU Space Programme to its growing role across multiple transport sectors, EGNOS continues to expand its reach. The 2025 Workshop in Berlin brought together experts and users from across Europe to celebrate progress, share insights, and look ahead to the next generation of services.
If the EU Space Programme had an origin story, it would be called EGNOS. Today, nearly two decades after the declaration of its Open Service, EGNOS remains a symbol of European Union innovation and reliability in satellite navigation.
The EGNOS Workshop 2025, held in Berlin on 1–2 October and marking its first hybrid edition, brought together over 150 participants from more than 50 organizations across 25 countries, reaffirming the vibrancy and cohesion of the EGNOS community.
The workshop serves as the main platform for users, developers, and institutions to share knowledge, present applications, and explore how EGNOS continues to evolve and create new opportunities in Europe and beyond.
Today, EGNOS is Europe’s regional Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS), free and publicly available service that improves GPS accuracy to within 1–2 meters, compared to around 5 meters when using GPS alone.
For Safety-of-Life users, EGNOS goes a step further: it guarantees integrity, alerting users within six seconds if a signal’s accuracy falls below the required level. This reliability is what makes EGNOS indispensable to sectors where precision and safety are critical — and aviation is a prime example.
A match made in space: EGNOS and Aviation
In aviation, EGNOS enables approaches equivalent to ILS CAT I, providing precise lateral and vertical guidance down to 200 feet (about 60 meters) above the runway, all without costly ground infrastructure. For small and regional airports, this means safer landings and continuous service even in poor weather conditions, without the expense of installing and maintaining traditional ILS systems.
This combination of integrity, performance, and accessibility has turned EGNOS into a cornerstone of Europe’s aviation operations, and the foundation for its future expansion into other transport domains.
Strong Institutional Partnership
The workshop opened with remarks from Carolin Richter (Head of Division Satellite Navigation and Satellite Communication at German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport), Rodrigo da Costa (EUSPA Executive Director), and Charlotte Neyret (CEO of ESSP). Together, they underlined the close cooperation between national authorities, European institutions, and industry — the partnership that sustains and propels the EGNOS programme.
EUSPA and ESSP shared the latest updates on service performance, programme development, and the 2024 user satisfaction results. The discussions reflected a dual message: EGNOS is a mature, trusted operational system, and its evolution is accelerating, with expansion into new markets and transport modes already underway.
Expanding Horizons: EGNOS Across Sectors
Although designed originally for aviation, EGNOS’ Safety-of-Life service has grown far beyond. EUSPA launched in 2024, the EGNOS Safety of Life Assisted Service for Maritime Users (ESMAS), a new service that complements ground-based augmentation systems to enhance accuracy and signal integrity for maritime navigation.
By supporting navigation in coastal waters and harbour approaches without the need for new infrastructure, ESMAS provides an added layer of safety to vessels equipped with SBAS-capable receivers. The service is available free of charge to all SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea)-conforming vessels operating within EU Member States, along with Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, a major step in extending the benefits of EGNOS to the maritime sector.
The workshop also presented progress on IEC maritime receiver standardization and real-world implementation through the IWETT project, which uses EGNOS via AIS to improve efficiency and safety on inland waterways.
Similarly, the EGNOS4RAIL project demonstrated how EGNOS can support reliable positioning for train operations — a step toward enhancing safety and reducing dependence on trackside signalling.
In the field of drones, industry leaders highlighted how EGNOS contributes to safer, more precise navigation for unmanned aerial systems, supporting Europe’s growing U-space ecosystem.
Innovation and International Cooperation
Innovation remains at the heart of EGNOS. Projects such as the Multi-Mode GPS and Galileo (MUGG), led by Collins, are advancing the development of dual-frequency, multi-constellation (DFMC) SBAS receivers for aviation, preparing the ground for EGNOS Version 3 (V3).
V3 will augment both GPS and Galileo, offering enhanced accuracy, new services, and improved security protections against cyber threats. This next evolution will further strengthen European Union’s independence in satellite navigation and reinforce EGNOS as a resilient, future-ready system.
At the workshop, updates from ANGA (Africa) and MSAS (Japan) showcased how other regions are deploying SBAS solutions, highlighting the growing importance of international cooperation for interoperability.
Real-World Impact and Success Stories
Aviation remained a central theme, with ESSP, EUROCONTROL, and DFS sharing perspectives on implementation, operations, and network integration.
User presentations from the German Armed Forces and Lufthansa Group demonstrated the operational benefits of EGNOS from both airport and airline perspectives.
A highlight was the panel with Logic Air, CMC Electronics, and ASL Airlines Belgium, moderated by ESSP, exploring the practical steps behind end-to-end LPV implementation. These success stories confirmed that EGNOS is not just a technical enabler, but a trusted operational asset delivering measurable improvements in safety, efficiency, and sustainability.
Demonstrations and Recognitions
Participants had the chance to see innovation in action through live demonstrations of EGNOS-compatible solutions, including Alberding’s latest tools, the IWETT testbed, and an offline real-time maritime performance demo by ESSP.
The event concluded with the EGNOS Awards, celebrating the organizations and individuals whose efforts have been instrumental in promoting the use and visibility of EGNOS across Europe.
Looking Ahead
As EGNOS moves toward its next phase, its impact continues to grow. The program’s evolution, from improving GPS accuracy to enabling advanced multimodal services, embodies the vision of a connected, safer, and more sustainable Europe.
The 2025 Workshop reaffirmed what has been true since EGNOS’ first signal was declared operational: this system is not only European Union’s first satellite navigation service, but also the foundation of a thriving community committed to innovation, reliability, and collaboration.
From aviation to maritime, from rail to drones, the story of EGNOS continues to evolve, guiding European Union’s path forward in satellite navigation.