More countries commit to facilitating air transport, sign cooperation agreements
An astonishing 521 new international air service agreements were signed at The International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) most recent Air Services Negotiation (ICAN) event.
The event held in Saudi Arabia was attended by over 700 participants representing 97 countries. These represent record-breaking outcomes for this edition of the annual meeting, which the General Authority of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia generously hosted.
In recognition of aviation’s crucial role as a catalyst for sustainable development worldwide, the ICAN series was launched in 2008 to facilitate the initiation or renegotiation of the bilateral and multilateral State agreements that form the regulatory foundation of the modern civil aviation network.
ICAO promotes several key priorities for States when supporting their air services negotiations, including liberalized market access for airlines, the removal of barriers to access wider capital markets, and relaxed nationality requirements for airlines’ ownership.
Priorities include commitments to convergent and effective regulatory practices supported by good governance, and recognition of the need for modernized infrastructure and passenger facilitation processes. Those commitments will continue to support safety, security, environmental sustainability, capacity, and resilience objectives, as well as the implementation of effective national competition and consumer protection frameworks, and full compliance with current ICAO policy guidance on taxes, charges, and fees.
Aspirational goals agreed by governments towards the decarbonization of air transport by 2050 support the expansion of air service agreements associated with these environmental engagements.
This is further supported by initiatives led by ICAO to support developing and implementing the technologies, operational improvements, and cleaner aviation fuels that decarbonization requires. This latest edition of ICAN took place in Riyadh from 3 to 7 December 2023.