ICAO Plans Aircraft Tracking Worldwide
ICAO also will begin to develop a flight tracking concept of operations covering how the new tracking data is shared.
The International Civil Aviation Organization agreed to track airline flights, no matter where they are located, the agency announced. Under the ICAO framework, contributions by industry through an Aircraft Tracking Task Force coordinated by the International Air Transport Association will help to address the near-term needs for flight tracking.
"Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been an unprecedented event for aviation, and we have responded here in a similarly unprecedented manner," said ICAO Council President Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. "While our flight safety work logically focuses the majority of our energy and resources on accident prevention, everyone in our sector also deeply sympathizes with the families of this lost aircraft's passengers and crew."
ICAO also will begin to develop a flight tracking concept of operations covering how the new tracking data is shared.
The meeting also recognized the challenges faced by states when coordinating their search and rescue efforts across national and regional areas of responsibility, stressing the usefulness of regularly run practice exercises to identify procedural or operational gaps.