The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry and airline companies have started sharing information about air turbulence in a bid to ensure safer flights, ministry officials said Wednesday.
In the trial system, the ministry is collecting and sharing data on turbulence and airplane jolts with five Japanese airlines.
It is the first time the government and airlines have cooperated in taking measures against turbulence, the officials said.
They said the system, if formally introduced, could offer pilots more information about turbulence and help airlines plan safer routes or altitudes. It would be the first time a system has been set up to enable airlines to exchange data with each other.
Under the trial system, information from the five airlines -- Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Japan Air System, Skymark Airlines and Hokkaido International Airlines -- is stored on transport ministry computers and transferred to each firm.
Noriyuki Todo, a manager of JAL's flight headquarters and a weather forecaster, said, "The system is epoch-making as even information on minor jolts will be shared. We want to use the system in conjunction with weather forecast maps."