Economic Policy and Regulation
Consumer protection
The Secretariat continued to monitor developments on recent regulatory activity pertaining to passengers’ rights, and to update and improve the ICAO online database on consumer protection. The database provides information, including a summary of consumer protection rules by regions, international liability conventions and industry commitments.
Liberalization of market access, air cargo and air carrier ownership and control
The Air Transport Regulation Panel (ATRP), at its fourteenth meeting held in July 2017, agreed to continue its work on developing a multilateral agreement for liberalization of market access, including the holding of a working group meeting in early 2018 to address the issue of safeguards or reassurance provisions for such an Agreement. The Panel also agreed to develop a specific protocol to facilitate further liberalization of air cargo services (up to Seventh Freedom of the Air) and a standalone multilateral convention on foreign investment in airlines. The report of the ATRP/14 was endorsed by the Air Transport Committee.
Fair competition
The focus of ICAO’s work is towards the development of tools to enhance the transparency of States’ competition rules, and to foster cooperation, dialogue and regulatory compatibility. In this respect, the Secretariat has developed a Compendium of Competition Policies and Practices in force, nationally or regionally. The Secretariat continues to update the compendium, and by 2017 its coverage had increased from 60 States in 2015 to 129 States.
