IATA commits to unified position on aircraft tracking
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has made a commitment to facilitate a unified industry position on global tracking of aircraft and called on governments to make more effective use of passenger data.
IATA’s Director General and CEO, Tony Tyler, also called on governments and industry to focus on partnerships, data analysis and runway safety in the ongoing quest to make flying even safer.
Tyler made the call in a keynote address at the opening of the IATA OPS Conference, in Kuala Lumpur. He was speaking amid the ongoing search for MH370.
“In 2013, there were over 29 million flights operated on Western-built jet aircraft, with 12 hull losses. That is one accident for every 2.4 million flights and a 14.6% improvement on the five-year industry average. Accidents are rare, but the current search for MH370 is a reminder that we can never be complacent on safety. It may well a long time before we know exactly what happened on that flight. But it is already clear that we must never let another aircraft go missing in this way. And it is equally clear that governments must make better use of the passenger data that they mandate airlines to provide,” said Tyler.
