aircraft

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is reportedly preparing to recommend new standard to improve global tracking of aircraft flights.

The standard will require commercial aircraft to report their location every 15 minutes.

The proposal will be discussed by ICAO members at a conference, scheduled to be held in February.

ICAO spokesman was reported by Reuters as saying that the standard will not require installation of new technology on aircraft and could be in place in the coming days.

"If member states agree to the standard, the safety conference will also be asked how quickly it expects it to be implemented and if it would want ICAO to expedite that process."

The decision for new regulation comes in the wake of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 last year.

ICAO spokesman Anthony Philbin said: "If (member states) agree to the standard, the safety conference will also be asked how quickly it expects it to be implemented and if it would want ICAO to expedite that process.

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"Once our states have made their views known in that regard, we’ll have a better idea of the time frame."

Last year, International Air Transport Association (IATA) agreed to lead an expert task force, to improve aircraft tracking.

The task force has suggested airlines to track their aircraft in at least 15 minute intervals within 12 months. However, the decision was hindered by IATA saying the timeline was not practical.

A recent paper by ICAO showed that although majority of long-haul aircraft have tracking systems on board, the equipment is not always turned on and there are gaps in satellite coverage in some locations.

Image: The new standard will require commercial aircraft to report their location every 15 minutes. Photo: courtesy of Colin Kean.