Source: ACI Airports Council International (ACI) World has today published its World Airport Traffic Report Dataset covering passenger traffic, cargo volumes, and aircraft movements for the full year 2019. The dataset provides an illustration of a healthy aviation industry in 2019. In 2019, the world’s airports accommodated 9.1 billion passengers, 120 million metric tonnes of cargo, and more than 102 million aircraft movements. This year’s WATR dataset contains the most comprehensive data coverage ever collected by ACI World. It includes coverage of 2,565 airports in 180 countries worldwide. “The airports industry was experiencing a period of sustained passenger traffic growth in 2019 but, despite this consistent growth, we are now facing the worst crisis the industry has ever confronted, with [...]

Source: ICAO United Nations efforts to prevent trafficking in persons took an important step forward today, with the launch of the new online training to support the implementation of the ICAO-OHCHR Guidelines for Training Cabin Crew on Identifying and Responding to Trafficking in Persons   Developed in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the free e-learning course explores the unique opportunities cabin crew have to observe passengers over the duration of their flights and potentially identify and assist human trafficking victims. Additional course elements will also be of value to airport and other aviation industry professionals.   “The entire global aviation community has a key role to play in preventing trafficking [...]

Source: ICAO Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) are commencing a series of trials to test the crew module of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART)  Take-off guidelines . These guidelines aim to reduce public health risk to air passengers, air crew, airport staff while strengthening confidence among the travelling public.   ICAO, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, Changi Airport, Heathrow Airport, British Airways and Singapore Airlines are participating in these trials. The trials will test the measures for air crew throughout the travel journey between Singapore and the UK. The measures include maintaining safe distancing, meeting all relevant customs, immigration and health requirements, observing good hand hygiene and [...]

Source: ICAO A detailed set of international Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) to assist States in establishing their capabilities to collect, use, process and protect Passenger Name Record (PNR) data to help detect and counter terrorist offenses and mobility was endorsed recently by the ICAO governing body. United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2396 prescribed that countries should develop the capability to collect, process and analyse, in furtherance of ICAO SARPs, airline PNR data for the purpose of countering, detecting and investigating terrorist offenses and related travel. The resolution also “urges ICAO to work with its Member States to establish a standard for the collection, use, processing and protection of PNR data.” “The exchange of PNR data helps to prevent [...]

Source: ICAO The Council of ICAO today agreed to provide a clear safeguard, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the CORSIA – Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, the first ever global market-based measure being applied for any industry sector.   The CORSIA was designed to address gaps in aviation’s ability to reduce and eliminate its CO2 emissions through ongoing innovations in aircraft design, propulsion, operational procedures, fuels and other more sustainable means, to achieve the sector’s aspirational goal of carbon neutral growth from 2020.   ICAO Assembly Resolution A40-19, which defines the CORSIA, includes modalities to adjust the CORSIA both in case of an unforeseen circumstance that affects the sustainability of the scheme or an inappropriate [...]

Source: A4A Today, Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, announced that its member carriers will voluntarily pledge to refund tickets for any passenger who is found to have an elevated temperature — as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines — during a screening process conducted by federal authorities prior to travel. Last month, A4A and its member carriers announced they are supporting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin conducting temperature screenings of the traveling public and customer-facing employees as long as necessary during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Temperature checks are one of several public health measures recommended by the CDC amid the COVID-19 pandemic and will [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments to avoid quarantine measures when re-opening their economies. IATA is promoting a layered approach of measures to reduce the risk of countries importing COVID-19 via air travel and to mitigate the possibility of transmission in cases where people may travel while unknowingly being infected. “Imposing quarantine measures on arriving travelers keeps countries in isolation and the travel and tourism sector in lockdown. Fortunately, there are policy alternatives that can reduce the risk of importing COVID-19 infections while still allowing for the resumption of travel and tourism that are vital to jumpstarting national economies. We are proposing a framework with layers of protection to keep sick people from traveling and to [...]

Source: ICAO Separate developments last week marked significant progress toward the global implementation of ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), despite the challenges of COVID-19.   Rwanda and Kazakhstan became the latest countries to announce their participation in the pilot phase of CORSIA, which is voluntary. Mr. Silas Udahemuka and Mr. Peter Griffiths, respectively the Directors General of the Civil Aviation Authorities of Rwanda and Kazakhstan, informed ICAO of these developments through letters to ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu. These commitments represent an important contribution towards the momentum underpinning CORSIA. As a result, 85 States representing 76.76% of international aviation activities are now committed to the voluntary phase.   In parallel, ICAO has officially launched [...]

Source: ICAO ICAO completed its third regional roll-out session today to national heads of civil aviation, as it continues to progress global COVID-19 aviation alignment through its Governing Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) recommendations and guidelines.   Today’s webinar, which was open to the public and hosted by ICAO’s South American (SAM) Regional Office, comes closely after the conclusion of similar regional events hosted by the UN aviation agency’s North American and Caribbean (NACC) and European and North Atlantic (EURNAT) Regional Offices. All three webinars gathered together the Directors General of Civil Aviation from their respective accredited States and achieved progress on numerous fronts.   When introducing the CART guidelines to the national aviation heads, ICAO Secretary General, Dr. [...]

Source: ICAO Montréal, 1 June 2020 – The ICAO Council adopted a new report and recommendations today aimed at restarting the international air transport system and aligning its global recovery. The COVID-19 report and guidelines were produced by the Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART). They were developed through broad-based consultations with countries and regional organizations, and with important advice from the World Health Organization and key aviation industry groups including the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airports Council International (ACI World), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), and the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA). “The world looked to the ICAO Council to provide the high-level guidance which governments and industry needed to begin restarting international [...]