Hughes Aerospace and Garmin are expanding their Guided Visual Approaches database to 64 procedures at 48 airports, giving crews of compatible Garmin-equipped aircraft lateral and vertical guidance for visual approaches in challenging environments. The procedures are intended to support more stable approaches at airports affected by terrain, obstacles, dense development, urban lighting or night-time conditions, without converting them into conventional instrument approaches.
Hughes contributes procedure-design expertise, while Garmin provides the compatible avionics and navigation-database technology. The procedures are aimed particularly at faster turbine aircraft, where maintaining a stable flight path can help crews keep their attention outside the cockpit during the visual segment.
Aircraft with compatible Garmin WAAS avionics and radius-to-fix capability can load and fly the procedures with lateral and vertical guidance. Autopilot coupling is available on supported systems. Georeferenced approach charts can be accessed through compatible Garmin avionics and Garmin Pilot on supported Apple devices.
The latest coverage follows Garmin’s July 2026 expansion, which added procedures at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Oakland International Airport and DuPage Airport near Chicago. The companies have not identified all airports included in the latest expansion. Procedure availability and effective database cycles should therefore be confirmed through current Garmin documentation.