KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Global aviation and communications authorities today agreed to develop a roadmap for the implementation of real-time global flight monitoring and expect to come up with an initial framework early next year.

Nancy Graham, the Air Navigation Bureau director for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), said the agency will work closely with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to incorporate cloud computing and big data solutions to keep tabs of every commercial aircraft from takeoff to landing.

“It’s something considered mid-term. We’re talking about early next year as the timeline for completing some of the preliminary looks and assessments,” she said at a press conference at the end of an expert dialogue on real-time monitoring of flight data.

Graham explained that real-time monitoring is a new area in aviation as it uses technology more typically associated with other industries such as finance and manufacturing.

ITU Telecommunications Standardisation Bureau director Malcolm Johnson said beyond the safety aspects, there are potential commercial gains for airlines in adopting cloud computing and big data solutions in their operations.

While global regulators and industry players are still far from agreeing on details such as custody of data, data privacy and cost implications, he noted that it could lead to a more efficient industry in the long run.

“Some of the points raised (at the dialogue) were that streaming of data would enable more efficient routing of aircraft and reduce fuel burn, so there could be savings there.

“It could also lead to more efficient timetabling, better information to passengers... so there are many benefits to running this,” he said.

Graham said real-time monitoring will run parallel with ongoing efforts to standardise the use of global flight tracking via satellites to establish the position of any commercial plane anywhere in the world, but stressed that both initiatives will take time to reach fruition.

She noted that implementation of new regulations would typically take anywhere between two to three years, though she expects global flight tracking to be expedited since airlines have already volunteered to implement the system on their own.

“What we believe though is there’s value. It is becoming less and less expensive to use satellites for communication, and so why not expand our horizons and think about the future,” she said.

Yesterday at the start of the dialogue, Graham told journalists that voluntary and mandatory implementation of global flight tracking are moving in tandem, with an expert task force expected to finalise a policy framework for global standards this September.

She said some airlines have already started tracking their own planes and that their experiences will help speed up regulatory implementation of the system.

On May 14, ICAO with the help of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) set up the Aircraft Tracking Task Force to deal with near-term needs for global flight tracking, in response to flight MH370’s disappearance.

The Malaysia Airlines-owned Boeing 777 went missing along with its 239 passengers and crew in the pre-dawn hours of March 8, shortly after take-off from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

An international search team has since focused its efforts in the southern Indian Ocean west of Perth, Australia, in what has been described as the longest and costliest search operation in the history of modern aviation.