Satellite operator Inmarsat wants to offer a basic tracking service free of charge to all the world’s passenger airliners.
The UK firm came to the media’s attention in the wake of the Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH370 disappearance when it managed to track its last known course over the Indian Ocean through satellite electronic ‘pings.’
Inmarsat says it will offer the free service for ‘definitive positional information’ adding that compatible equipment is already fitted on 90% of the world’s wide-body jets.
"This is an immediate fix for the industry at no cost," said Inmarsat senior vice-president Chris McLaughlin.
Cost has been the main reason why airlines have been reluctant to deploy satellite tracking systems so far.
Inmarsat said it will cost around $3 million a year to provide basic worldwide tracking.
The company believes it can recover costs as airlines upgrade to some of its premium services, but the basic tracking service will always stay free of charge, it said.
The move comes ahead of a conference on aircraft tracking being held in Montreal, Canada today by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Inmarsat offers a similar service in the maritime industry where distress calls from ships are picked up over its network free of charge.
Last week the European Aviation Safety Agency asked for black box flight recorders’ power to be boosted to be able to work underwater for at least 90 days instead of the current 30 days.
Other aviation industry experts have called for all black box data to be automatically uploaded to the cloud.
