First Global Runway Safety Symposium Opened Tuesday At The
International Civil Aviation Organization In Montreal
Despite the consistent growth of civil aviation over the past
decades, air transport remains the safest form of mass
transportation — reflected in a remarkably low global
accident rate of roughly four accidents per million departures. As
world traffic is expected to keep increasing in the years ahead, it
is imperative that the international community work as one to
reduce the accident rate, with particular emphasis on runway
incursions and excursions and other runway-related events, which
account for the largest single category of aviation accidents.
To address this issue, ICAO in conjunction with its partners is
hosting a Global Runway Safety Symposium from this week at ICAO
Headquarters in Montreal. Prestigious speakers, panellists and
participants from ICAO Member States and industry organizations, as
well as research organizations involved in the development of new
technologies, will be exchanging views and creating a global path
forward to improve runway safety. Some 450 participants from 75
States, as well as international organizations, have registered for
the Symposium, which runs through Thursday.
"The objective of the Symposium is to better identify all of the
operational and regulatory elements involved in runway safety,"
said Nancy Graham, Director of the Air Navigation Bureau of ICAO.
We want to come to a common understanding with the various
stakeholders on how these all fit together. We will also be setting
the stage for regional workshops on runway safety that ICAO and our
international partners will be hosting during the next three years
around the world."
Multiple and interrelated factors enter into all runway
accidents, including airport design and construction, air traffic
control, air traffic management systems and processes, airline
operations, flight crew awareness and communications. An effective
runway safety program must be based on multidisciplinary research
and solutions.
"Airport and aircraft operators, associations representing
pilots and air traffic controllers, aircraft and avionics
manufacturers, air navigation service providers and regulators all
have important roles to play in developing effective runway safety
solutions. Moving forward, one of ICAO's main challenges will be to
establish higher levels of coordination between these groups so
that the sharing of information and best practices related to
runway accidents can benefit aviation stakeholders more quickly and
on a globally-harmonized basis," Graham emphasized.