Japan, Singapore aviation authorities collaborate on runway safety

The civil aviation agencies of Japan and Singapore are teaming up to improve runway safety after a fatal collision at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in January. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) said they are banding together to tap technology to prevent potential runway incursions. They are also beefing up collaboration among parties that have an impact on runway safety, including airlines, airport operators, ground handlers and air navigation service providers, the two agencies said in a statement on Nov 18. This came after CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan and JCAB senior deputy director-general Onuma Toshiyuki helmed the third Singapore-Japan dialogue on aviation collaboration in Kansai, Japan, on Nov 14 and 15. Runway safety was thrust into the spotlight earlier in 2024 when an arriving Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet collided with a smaller Japan Coast Guard plane on the runway at Haneda Airport on Jan 2. The captain of the coast guard plane had mistakenly assumed he had permission to enter the runway. The JAL Airbus A350 jet burst into flames upon landing and crashing into the other plane. All 379 passengers and crew aboard the jet escaped the blaze, while five people on the coast guard plane died. “Following the Haneda incident, JCAB reached out to CAAS to study runway safety measures (that) CAAS implemented,” the Singapore authority told The Straits Times.<br/>