Montréal, 22 November 2024 – Delegates during the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) 19th Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP) Symposium, which took place last week at the organization’s Montréal headquarters, emphasized the urgent need to accelerate implementation of aviation facilitation strategies.
"The depth of expertise and innovation shared here has reaffirmed the strength of our partnerships," remarked Juan Carlos Salazar, ICAO Secretary General. "Together, we are building a future of seamless, accessible, and reliable global mobility."
The four-day event, which brought together over 600 participants from 76 States and 6 international organizations, underscored the importance of aligning global regulatory frameworks with cutting-edge technology. By doing so, the aviation community aims to improve the passenger journey while maintaining robust security and facilitation standards.
Fittingly, it came as global aviation celebrates both the 80th anniversary of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the 75th anniversary of the Convention’s Annex 9 on Facilitation this year, as well as the Year of Facilitation.
Themed "Harmonizing Processes for Free-Flowing Travel," the Symposium focussed on the critical impact of innovations such as the ICAO Digital Travel Credential (DTC) and passenger data exchange standards like Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR). It also addressed the key components of the ICAO TRIP Strategy in relation to this objective and covered pressing challenges, such as mitigating biometric fraud through facial image enrollment security and the transition from physical passports to digital credentials.
Significant progress was made at the Symposium in several areas. The ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) programme, in particular, marked a major milestone during the Symposium, welcoming Ethiopia as its 100th participant. This was an apt demonstration of the growing global commitment to enhanced border control processes.
"This milestone reflects the growing recognition that secure, efficient border crossings are essential for global mobility," said ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar. "Each new participant strengthens our collective ability to verify travel documents quickly and reliably."
This achievement coincided with the attribution of the TRIP Award of Excellence to Mario Wiesen for his contributions to advancing global traveller identification standards, particularly in his role as Chairperson of the ICAO PKD Board since 2017.
Looking ahead, the Symposium provided a collaborative platform for States at various stages of implementation capacity. Support of ICAO's "No Country Left Behind" strategic goal will help ensure that the decisions and declarations made at the event will translate into action.
Stakeholders will continue advancing their collaboration at the ICAO Facilitation Conference 2025 (FALC 2025) from 14 to 17 April 2025, which will be hosted by Qatar in Doha. The 20th TRIP Symposium, scheduled for 2025, will also further build upon these foundations for international cooperation.
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About ICAO
A specialized agency of the United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) leads the international alignment of technical standards and strategies, facilitating the safe, secure, and sustainable development of its 193 member states' aviation sectors and air services. This year, ICAO is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its establishment by the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation.
About the ICAO TRIP Strategy
The ICAO TRIP Strategy is composed of five key components:
• Evidence of Identity: Ensuring the legitimacy of travellers through secure identity management systems.
• Document Issuance and Control: Strengthening the foundations of trust in travel documents.
• Machine Readable Travel Documents: Building global interoperability based on ICAO Doc 9303 standards.
• Inspection Systems and Tools: Enhancing border security with secure and automated verification processes.
• Interoperable Applications: Advancing global solutions like the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) and Digital Travel Credential (DTC) while a special focus is placed on the critical role of advance passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) data in enhancing traveller facilitation and security.
About electronic and digital travel documents and ICAO public key infrastructure
Technical specifications for electronic and digital travel documents have been included in ICAO’s body of specifications on machine readable travel documents (ICAO Doc 9303) since 2006. The specifications outline how to issue digitally-signed documents, with the signature process being based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) protocols.
PKI involves pairs of public and private keys – each key being a long alphanumeric string. When issuing ICAO compliant electronic documents including a digital signature, a private key is used as part of the signing process. The party that receives the digitally-signed document data needs the public key for authentication of the applied signature, which confirms both the authenticity of the document and the integrity of the data stored in that document. The public key is mathematically related to the private key but the private key cannot be derived from it. Hence, while the private key is kept secure in order to assure that issuance is only possible for authorized entities, it is necessary and safe to share the public keys. This is normally accomplished through sharing of public key certificates that include those keys.
The ICAO PKD facilitates the sharing of public key certificates associated with electronic and digital travel documents specified by ICAO. By acting as a central broker for dissemination of certificates, it greatly alleviates the burden associated with bilateral exchanges of certificates. The ICAO PKD currently shares all certificates needed for verification of electronic passports, electronic ID cards, digitally-signed barcodes and Digital Travel Credentials issued following the specifications of Doc 9303.
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