The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) clarified the legal framework in place governing the roles and responsibilities of States, airlines and international organizations with respect to risks to civil aviation arising in national airspace.
The UN specialized agency for international civil aviation has issued the explanations subsequent to a number of misinterpretations which surfaced after the release of the MH17 Final Report.
Summary of Clarifications
- Under the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), States and States alone maintain sovereign authority over their airspace.
- This authority carries with it the responsibility to issue risk advisories regarding any threats to the safety of civilian aircraft operating in their airspace. Said threats may include, but are not limited to, armed conflicts, ash clouds due to volcanic eruptions, missile tests and rocket launches, etc.
- States also have authority to close their airspace where certain safety threats may warrant that action.
- Aircraft and airline operators are responsible for assessing global airspace risks communicated by States, and/or third parties, before deciding where they fly.
- Under this international framework, ICAO does not possess the authority to over-ride sovereign States in order to close their airspace or reroute airline traffic.
- With respect to conflict zone risk specifically, recommendations to assist States and airlines with a more effective means of sharing risk information were already proposed by the 2014 conflict zone risk task force which ICAO established, immediately after the loss of MH17.
- These recommendations were later agreed to at ICAO’s High-level Safety Conference (191 Member States participating) in February of this year, and then were adopted formally by the ICAO Council. A keyrecommendation identified the need for an online risk information repository to be established, and ICAO launched that publicly-available tool in April of this year.
TAP Air Portugal successfully conducted operational tests of a new lightweight aircraft paint technology capable of reducing the weight of its aircraft by up to 26 kg per plane. This innovation is par...
The Arriel 2K engine that powers Leonardo’s AW09 helicopter, has received its type certificate from EASA. This marks an important milestone towards the entry into service of the AW09, Leonardo&r...
Daher Aircraft has delivered the 400th Kodiak, marking a significant achievement for the multi-role airplane family as its customer base continues to expand across government, commercial, business and...
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, United Airlines and the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a landmark transformation for Washington Dulles International Airport with a capital...
