A task force report on flight tracking submitted at the beginning of the week by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) met with mixed reaction from airlines, several of which refused to fully endorse its recommendations. The report, which addresses ICAO’s call for a set of priorities and an action plan to track airplanes in distress following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, recommends a set of performance criteria for establishing what ICAO calls a Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) within a year.

While speaking in Geneva during IATA’s Global Media Day on December 10, IATA director general Tony Tyler conceded that not all member airlines felt they could meet the recommended 12-month deadline, however.   

“Airlines are taking the tracking issue very seriously,” said Tyler. “Some already exceed the report’s suggested performance criteria. For others, closing the gap may take more than a twelve-month timeline for every aircraft.

“As aircraft operators, our members took a serious and practical look at the recommendations. While they are committed to improving, they could not fully endorse what would be practically unachievable for some.”

Among the report’s recommendations, a suggestion to explore the possibility of making tracking systems tamper-proof appears particularly problematic to detractors who argue flight crews must be able to deactivate equipment in the event of a malfunction or safety hazard such as an electrical fire.

“Without speculating on what happened [to Flight MH370], redesigning the aircraft’s failsafe systems to make sure that transponders cannot be shut off is well beyond the near-term focus of the task force,” conceded Tyler. “So the public should be aware that there is no silver bullet solution on tracking. The industry is working to improve, but some issues such as tamper proofing, will take time to address and implement. Remember, the sealing of cockpit doors after 9/11 took several years to complete.”