Japan's transport ministry has begun requiring all ground vehicles allowed to operate on runways at eight major airports to be equipped with transponders to alert control towers of their locations and prevent collisions with aircraft.
The move, which started on Tuesday, follows runway incursions by construction vehicles at some airports.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has distributed around 530 transponders to be fitted to fire engines, aircraft tugs, construction vehicles and patrol vehicles at the airports, including Haneda and Narita serving Tokyo, allowing air traffic controllers to monitor all vehicles entering runways.
The closer monitoring of ground assets is part of broader airport safety measures implemented after a runway collision at Haneda in January 2024 between a Japan Airlines jet and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft.
A collision between a plane and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport in March is said to have resulted from multiple failures of safety measures, including the absence of a transponder on the fire truck.
