Published on : Tuesday, April 28, 2020
IATA has asked states to specifically take certain actions with immediate effect. It has urged authorities to work with the aviation industry to find temporary measures and ensure that licenses and certificates crucial for managing aviation safety are extended to remain valid. It has also asked to file the temporary measures with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as well as recognise the measures of other states that are filed with ICAO.
Gilberto Lopez Meyer, Senior Vice President, Safety and Flight Operations, IATA said in a press brief that safety should always be the top priority. He commanded ICAO on behalf of IATA to undertake swift action to facilitate the sharing of states’ temporary regulatory extensions while making it easier for states to extend their mutual recognition.
Numerous aviation regulators across the world have already taken necessary steps to provide airlines and licensed crew with the required flexibility, such as extensions to the validity periods for licenses, ratings, and certificates so that operational capabilities can be maintained. However, IATA is of the opinion that these measures must be filed with ICAO so that they can be effective. It will also make the measures visible and recognised by counterpart states. The organisation informed that without mutual recognition, airlines are likely to face uncertainty regarding entry restriction and allowance in the territories they enter.
As airline operations have been harshly impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, many of the world’s aviation regulators are not able to perform their standard administration of various licenses at the moment. Therefore, ICAO has established the COVID-19 Contingency Related Differences (CCRD) system to prevent global aviation from further damage and disruption. The system enables all states to record any differences to their standard policies. It would also allow states to make a clear statement that they accept other states’ differences through a new form. This will ensure safe continuity of flights between countries in a harmonised and well-documented process.