India launches new aviation regulation amid MH370 fear

India has set up new civil aviation regulation for local airlines to ensure real time tracking of aircraft, following the missing of a Malaysian passenger plane in March, said local daily The Times of India Wednesday.

The new rules will apply to passengers and cargo planes, the report quoted the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as saying in a statement.

It said carriers have been asked to use onboard Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) or Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) for real time tracking.

The regulator also urged airlines to devise a procedure for effective tracking of aircraft while flying over areas where there is no coverage from ACARS or ADS-B.

Europe is to toughen black box rules after MH370, as the European Aviation Safety Agency has drawn up proposals to make it easier to find black boxes from missing aircraft, in the strongest official reaction so far to the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jet, the report quoted expert sources as saying.

The proposals will bring into force some recommendations that were put forward by France after the loss of an Air France jet in the Atlantic in 2009, but which were never implemented.