Civil aviation must adjust in response to emerging threats – UN agency

Global air transportation needs to adjust to face emerging challenges such as terrorist attacks and climate change, a top official of the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said today.

“Civil aviation, as an integral part of the global economy and a driving force for social development, must adapt to new realities,” Roberto Kobeh González, President of the ICAO Council, said at the opening of the Organization’s thirty-sixth session in Montreal.

Although civil aviation continues to be the safest means of mass transportation, there are still numerous accidents in some of the world’s regions and it is vulnerable to terrorist attacks, he noted.

“In spite of enormous progress, the sustained increase in traffic means that it will be even more difficult to minimize the impact of aviation on the environment,” Mr. González told participants.

In addition, he noted ever-increasing numbers of flights are worsening congestion in many places that already operate at maximum capacity.

The ICAO “must respond to new conditions and new opportunities wisely, while remaining true to the raison d’être of this Organization – the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation,” he said.

There are 190 members or Contracting States in the ICAO, which was established in 1944. The Council of the Organization, headquartered in Montreal, meets every three years.