The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has launched an app for identifying and reporting hazards, risky incidents, accidents and safety issues witnessed during air travel directly to the authority, it emerged on Thursday.

The Android app, called the “Voluntary Hazard/Incident Reporting System”, is available on the Google Play store.

According to a statement issued by the PCAA, the app covers a wide range of reporting areas, including "hazard, incident, accident, damage, deficiency, violation, failure and services".

"The aim of the hazard/incident reporting app is to provide an easy, user-friendly [and] adequate platform/resources to the general public and aviation stakeholders for proactive/reactive identification and reporting of hazards/incidents and safety issues directly to the PCAA," the statement says.

It adds that the app can be used to report any hazard or incident that may risk the safety of an aircraft and its operations, and operations at airports.

"The person reporting [the hazard or the incident] may also upload files, pictures, etc, along with [a] narrative in the support of his/her report as evidence," the statement reads, saying the disclosure of identification of the reporter or informer will be optional.

The application is part of efforts by the authority's director general "to invite general public/air passengers/ aviation stakeholders to become part of the aviation [sector's] safety culture", it adds.

"[The] PCAA firmly believes [that] aviation safety is everyone's responsibility and always gives due importance to aviation safety-related issues and remains continuously engaged to enhance aviation performance and quality," the statement says.

According to the statement, a hazard reporting form is also available on the PCAA's website.