Airlines may struggle to meet jetliner tracking deadline
By Alwyn Scott and Victoria Bryan MIAMI (Reuters) - The world's airline trade association said on Tuesday it is pressing for better tracking of commercial jetliners flying over remote areas, but that some of its members may struggle to meet a 2016 deadline for technology improvements. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said a November 2016 implementation deadline set by a United Nations aviation agency remains difficult for some members. That date "may be a bit early for full implementation," Tony Tyler, director general of IATA, said at a press conference during the group's annual meeting in Miami. IATA represents about 250 airlines around the world. Aircraft tracking came under close scrutiny after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished during a flight in March 2014, with 239 people aboard. The plane has not been found. Critics say the pace of change is too slow. "I know where my planes are all the time," said Emirates airline President Tim Clark in a separate briefing in Miami. "They spew data down through ACARS (aircraft communication system." While that's expensive, and more difficult when out of radar coverage, he added, "you don't lose a plane for seven hours." IATA said that many newer aircraft have equipment that enable them to be tracked by satellite. But older aircraft do not, raising questions about the capability and cost of systems those planes would need. IATA is only an advisor to a standard-setting process being spearheaded by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations agency that set the tentative November deadline. ICAO's standards also would require aircraft to provide position information every 15 minutes when over ocean or remote areas. Position updates could be made by radio, said Rodolfo Quevedo, director of safety for IATA. Initial trials of tracking technology are in the works, and IATA would like to see the results of those before committing to a deadline, Quevedo said. IATA officials said the cost of such upgrades remains unclear. Earlier, ICAO president Olumuyiwa Aliu said good progress was being made. But he was sensitive to the need to carefully consider airlines' constraints. "I want to reassure you that I am very sensitive to the financial and operation burden that this represents for you as flight operators," he told the IATA meeting. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott and Victoria Bryan; Editing by Christian Plumb)
