UN civil aviation organization to develop new global airport security regime

Senior government representatives from 154 countries have endorsed a new strategy to improve airline security while introducing a new regime of safety audits for airports, the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced today.

Senior government representatives from 154 countries have endorsed a new strategy to improve airline security while introducing a new regime of safety audits for airports, the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (A href="http://www.icao.org/cgi/goto.pl?icao/en/nr/nr.htm">ICAO) announced today.

Wrapping up a meeting in Montreal on Wednesday, ministers attending a high-level ICAO Conference instructed UN aviation experts to develop a comprehensive aviation security plan that would establish integrated security measures for airports, aircraft and air traffic control to address new threats.

ICAO’s member States also called for proposals to protect aircraft flight decks and for the development of a system of regular mandatory aviation security audits to evaluate airport security. That system would be implemented by both national governments and the aviation agency. ICAO would then be responsible for a follow-up programme to help rectify deficiencies identified by these audits.

Implementation of the plan, to commence in mid-2002, is expected to cost some $17 million in its first two years, of which more than $15 million will be new contributions.

Describing the move as “an historic moment in the evolution of civil aviation,” ICAO Council President Assad Kotaite called on all members of the world aviation community to give full and unconditional support to all elements of the new global strategy, “so that air transport remains the safest and most efficient mode of mass transportation there is.”

Some 714 participants from 154 Contracting States took part in the Conference, along with observers from 24 international civil aviation organizations.