Airports Council International (ACI) World has today welcomed the publication of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Task Force Report.
As airports and the wider aviation industry prepares to restart amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of new measures, processes, and procedures are already being considered or introduced around the world.
ICAO, member states, and representatives of the industry - including ACI World, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), and the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA) - have worked together to develop the Report’s recommendations.
They will help to inform worldwide governments and regulators in aligning and progress the local, national, and regional recovery plans that are now being implemented around the world to foster a globally harmonized recovery.
While ACI World believes there is currently no single measure that could mitigate all the risks of restarting air travel, the harmonization of any new processes and procedures represents the most effective way of balancing risk mitigation with the need to unlock economies and to enable travel.
As a member of the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force, ACI World has provided input on behalf of its airport members around the world.
“We welcome the authoritative ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force Report which will contribute to a globally-consistent, outcome-based approach to the restart and recovery of air travel,” ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said.
“Aviation is an interconnected and interdependent global ecosystem and continued global collaboration, cooperation and consistency are key, first for the industry to successfully restart, and then for sustaining a balanced recovery.”
ACI World believes governments and industry regulators will need to ensure that any new processes, that they require airports to introduce, are adapted to changing data and medical evidence and ensure that they remain aligned with those deployed through other modes of transport and the wider society.
ACI World’s Business Restart and Recovery guidelines, issued last week, and ICAO’s Report will be continuously updated as the progress of the industry is monitored and evaluated. The guidance published by ACI World last week formed the basis of ACI’s submission to ICAO’s report which ensures consistency at a global level.
“The focus for airports as they restart and then prepare to sustain continuing operations will be, first and foremost, will be the health and welfare of travellers, staff, and the public, and to minimize the opportunities for dissemination of disease,” Angela Gittens said.
“The industry will continue to work together to reassure travellers that air travel is safe as this will be the key to rebuilding global air services capacity and keeping passengers safe, healthy, and secure as we do this.”
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