On October 16, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding, with plans to implement the initiative by the end of the year, according to a joint statement from their civil aviation authorities.
This agreement comes as the aviation sector rebounds from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly affected tourism in the region.
The concept was proposed last year, but it took time for the nations to reach a consensus on the data to be shared and to establish protocols for data confidentiality.
"This pioneering initiative in the Asia-Pacific region will enable the five nations to collaborate and share de-identified safety data and information to identify safety hazards and trends, as well as to develop strategies for mitigating risks," the joint statement indicated.
The countries have identified seven initial categories for data sharing, which include collision alerts, deviations from assigned altitudes by air traffic controllers, and the activation of ground warning systems.
Additionally, they will share reports on severe turbulence, windshear, bird strikes, and the transport of hazardous materials.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand will serve as the "custodian" of the data, while its counterpart in Singapore will take on the role of "data analyst," as stated in the announcement.