Join Forces To Achieve The Beijing Ministerial Declaration Commitments For Aviation Safety

In their second such event since 2018, ICAO and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) brought together South East Asian aviation officials this week to discuss new ways to improve local cooperation and strengthen regional safety performance.

The jointly-hosted ICAO-EASA Forum on Civil Aviation in South East Asia explored key objectives of the recently approved Asia-Pacific Regional Aviation Safety Plan (AP-RASP), and took stock of the regional initiatives underway supporting the implementation of the Beijing Declaration which was adopted at last year’s Asia and Pacific Ministerial Conference.

The 2019 event’s way forward conclusions noted the volume of safety data produced in the aviation sector and encouraged stakeholders to process and share data to enhance aviation safety through a data driven approach; endorsed the benefits of closer cooperation between States, ICAO and with Regional Safety Oversight Organisations, like EASA and other related agencies, to continue to improve aviation safety for the travelling public; and recognised the ICAO-EASA Forum as a key platform to facilitate the dialogue between national aviation authorities and stakeholders.

As a final conclusion, it was agreed to promote a 3rd ICAO-EASA Forum with an agenda focused on discussing the main safety topics in more detail.

“Aviation safety and security is a collective responsibility, and it’s for this reason that ICAO promotes new and strengthened partnerships in aid of both regional and global objectives,” said Arun Mishra, ICAO Regional Office Director for the Asia and Pacific (APAC). “EASA’s collaboration with ICAO is well-recognized and very much appreciated in this regard.” Mishra also underscored the slow progress being seen in some States with respect to the goals and targets of the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan and Regional APAC Air Navigation Plans, and that concerted effort was needed to improve Regional ICAO compliance and optimize the socio-economic impacts of both local and global air connectivity.

Luc Tytgat, Strategy and Safety Management Director of EASA, reflected on the European experience and highlighted “the need to establish sound partnerships with global and regional actors to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of safety actions." He also stressed EASA’s commitment to advancing aviation safety and partnership with South East Asia in light of the more diverse air traffic and capacity challenges now forecast, stressing the need for enhanced safety standards to be developed.

In January 2018, governments of the Asia Pacific region met in Beijing, China to endorse a declaration formalising their shared commitment to high-priority objectives in the areas of aviation safety and air navigation services efficiency. They agreed to pursue cooperative progress on objectives related to aviation safety oversight, State Safety Programme (SSP) implementation, international aerodrome certification, the timely implementation of the Asia/Pacific Seamless Air Traffic Management Plan, sharing of information and best practices for air navigation, independence in accident investigation and human resources development.

(Image provided with EASA news release)

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