Vijay Poonoosamy, Director International & Public Affairs of the Grup QI and Honourary Member of the Hermes Air Transport Organisation, moderated two inaugural interactive sessions of the ICAO TRIP Symposium at ICAO Headquarters in Montreal last week.
My Poonoosamy highlighted the critical strategic role of air transport in the transformation of communities, cities, countries, regions and the world and shared his beliefs that “ international air transport is global by definition and that its challenges must thus be addressed uniformly at the global level by ICAO” and that the “ international air transport chain cannot be stronger than its weakest link and that all the stakeholders of aviation must thus support ICAO’s formidable efforts to make the international air transport chain stronger by ensuring that no country is left behind.”
In other news from the Symposium the increase in traffic calls for greater airfield efficiency and capacity, World Airport Council International (ACI) World has emphasized the importance of implementing the new Organització d'Aviació Civil Internacional (OACI) Global Reporting Format (GRF), a new methodology for assessing and reporting runway surface conditions.
The GRF, which will be applicable in November 2020, was published in 2016 in an amendment to PANS-Aerodromes and consequential amendments to several Annexes. It is widely considered as a step forward for safety.
It follows amendment to Volume 1 of ICAO Annex 14 – Aerodromes, which came into effect on the 8 November 2018. It provides for a safe reduction in minimum airfield dimensions and offers the opportunity to boost efficiency and make improvements to capacity.
El Consell Mundial de Viatges i Turisme (WTTC) has saluted the work of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on digital identity and urged member states to adopt biometrics and related technologies to improve the efficiency of traveler journeys.
During her opening keynote at the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP) Symposium in Montreal, WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara noted that more than 1.4 billion people cross international borders for business or leisure purposes, and 4.4 billion trips are made by airplane each year, contributing 10.4 percent of global GDP and supporting 319 million jobs.
