Automated reporting of meteorological data by commercial aircraft will be improved and the quantity of reports will be increased under an agreement between the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the organizations said.
IATA said in a statement this week that the plan is to expand WMO’s Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) system over parts of the world where data are scarce. The agreement is expected to bring additional airlines into the program, currently supported by 40 passenger and cargo airlines.
Under the collaborative effort, WMO will establish regional frameworks for receiving and processing the meteorological data while IATA promotes airline participation, coordinates data relay and protects the airlines’ ownership of the information.
“One of the many unfortunate aspects of the COVID-19 crisis has been the severe loss of up to 90 percent of aircraft-derived meteorological data as a…
