SINGAPORE, Oct 17, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Five Southeast Asian nations said Thursday they had agreed to share aviation data and information among themselves, including reports of severe turbulence, to help make air travel safer.

Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday, aiming to launch the plan by the end of the year, their civil aviation authorities said in a joint statement.

The agreement comes as air travel recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, which hammered tourism in the region.

The initiative was mooted last year but it took time for the countries to agree on what to share and the draw up protocols that will govern data confidentiality.

"In a first-of-its kind initiative in the Asia-Pacific, the five States will collaborate and share de-identified safety data and safety information to identify safety hazards and trends and develop mitigating measures to better manage safety risks," the joint statement said.

The countries identified an initial seven categories to be shared, including collision warnings, deviations from altitudes assigned by air traffic controllers and activation of warning systems on the ground.

Reports of severe air turbulence, windshear, bird strikes and the carriage of dangerous goods are also to be shared.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand will act as the "custodian" of the data and its Singapore counterpart the "data analyst", the statement said.

The data, findings and recommendations from the analysis of the information "shall not be used to support investigations of accidents and incidents and shall not be used for punitive or enforcement purposes", the statement said.

Singapore's civil aviation authority director-general Han Kok Juan said he hoped other countries would join "to ensure safer skies for the travelling public".