The UN's aviation agency on Monday announced new requirements for the real-time tracking of civilian aircraft in distress, following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 two years ago. The ICAO's governing council approved proposals for planes to carry tracking devices that can transmit their location at least once a minute in cases of distress. Plane operators will have to ensure their flight recorder data is recoverable, while the duration of cockpit voice recordings is being extended from two to 25 hours, ICAO said. The requirements for the one-minute tracking and flight recorder data are performance-based, meaning individual airlines and plane-makers can choose the best option for them, from among existing and emerging technologies, ICAO said. The changes will take effect between now and 2021. Last year Malaysia called for real-time aircraft tracking to become a priority for the aviation industry following the loss of MH370. <br/>
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A thunderstorm knocked out power across Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, delaying more than 100 flights. LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said back-up generators were started as the storm hit shortly after 6.00am (10.00pm Singapore time) and power was restored in all terminals within an hour. "Arriving flights to LAX have been slowed down and during the storm cell two flights (were) diverted to Ontario International Airport," she said. Among arrivals there were 64 delays and two cancellations by 1.00 pm, while departures were hit with 64 delays and four cancellations, Castles said. She said strong winds of 56 kilometre per hour were buffeting the airport but were not expected to further delay flights as they were coming from the west. "However, all airport tenants have been notified to secure all equipment for safety reasons," she added. "Passengers are advised to check with their airlines on flight status before coming to the airport."<br/>
At least two people were injured in an explosion at a Somali airport checkpoint, the second aviation-related blast in the Horn of Africa country this year. Monday’s explosion at the screening area of an airport in Beledweyne, central Somalia, may have been caused by a device in a laptop bag, policeman Abdi Hassan said by phone. The city is about 325 kilometres north of the capital, Mogadishu. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Islamist militant group al-Shabaab has said it was behind the Feb. 2 bombing of an airliner flying from Mogadishu. That attack blew a hole in the plane’s fuselage, forced an emergency landing and killed one person thought to have been carrying the device. Authorities have detained 20 people in connection with Monday’s incident, in which a Djiboutian soldier serving with the African Union mission in Somalia and a luggage porter were wounded, Hassan said.<br/>