Japan's transport ministry has proposed for new air traffic control measures to boost safety at the country's major airports, including a new air traffic control role to coordinate takeoffs and landings.
Japan's transport ministry has proposed for new air traffic control measures to boost safety at the country's major airports, including a new air traffic control role to coordinate takeoffs and landings.
Reported by outlets such as the Asahi Shimbun and The Japan Times, a panel formed by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MOLITT) submitted a report and recommendations to improve safety at Japan's airports following the collision between a Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 and a Japan Coast Guard Dash-8 at Tokyo Haneda Airport earlier this year.
In the report, the panel recommended the addition of more air traffic control staff at Haneda and seven other airports – including Sapporo-New Chitose, Tokyo-Narita, Osaka-Kansai, and Naha. The additional staff would reduce the workload of air traffic controllers, and take on a new role to monitor runways, communicate with pilots and coordinate with other air traffic control staff.
A second reported recommendation was to resume the air traffic control practice to indicate the order of takeoff for departing flights by using phrases such as “number one” and “number two.” While concerns were raised pilots might mistakenly interpret the phrases as permission to enter runways, pilots stated the phrases were useful to understand the situation of other aircraft.
Third, the panel recommended the introduction of Runway Status Lights (RWSL) which automatically alerts pilots and vehicle operators on whether it is unsafe to enter a runway. The system – currently used at airports around Japan – is not available at Haneda. While air traffic controllers have a monitoring system in place to see aircraft entering runways by mistake, the report recommended the addition of audio alerts with a warning message display especially in urgent situations.
As the panel released their recommendations, the investigation by the Japan Transport Safety Board on the collision at Haneda earlier this year is still ongoing.
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