COVID-19 Response and Recovery Implementation Centre (CRRIC)
Launched on 3 July 2020, the
COVID-19 Response and Recovery Implementation Centre (CRRIC) is an online platform to share information, activities and experiences among States. ICAO regional offices have been working directly with State Focal Points to input information into the State Gap Analysis tool, as well as the Public Health Risk Mitigation Measures Tool. The input provided by the States is then fed into various dashboards, which provide information and data on the implementation of the CART recommendations on State, regional and global levels. The CRRIC is a living platform and incorporates the latest on COVID-19 related activities and implementation by States and ICAO.
COVID-19 and safety operational measures
States have faced challenges in meeting their obligations under the Convention on International Civil Aviation. CAAs were left with no choice but to notify temporary differences or “alleviations” from the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
To support States in filing and accessing the required information, the COVID-19 Contingency-Related Differences (CCRD), a sub-system of the Electronic Filing of Differences (EFOD) system was developed, which allowed States in filing temporary differences to SARPs and to publish the differences they were prepared to accept from other States.
While Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) on-site activities were suspended as of March 2020, off-site activities and transformation activities ramped up. The USOAP CMA completed the following activities in 2020: four audits; five ICAO Coordinated Validation Missions (ICVMs); and 18 off-site validation activities. In addition, one Mandatory Information Request (MIR) was issued, which resulted in the identification of a Significant Safety Concern.
The USOAP CMA evolved under four streams of implementation:
- the action plan to implement the recommendations of the Group of Experts for a USOAP CMA Structured Review (GEUSR);
- the recommendations of the ad hoc USOAP CMA Advisory Group, that were presented to the Council, and for which the Council (C-DEC 221/7) requested the Secretary General to transmit the proposed recommendations to Member States via a State letter in order to seek views;
- organizational improvements during 2020 to support the overall evolution of the USOAP CMA; and
- contingency measures and adaptations to the USOAP CMA to continue fulfilling its mandate during the COVID-19.
Developing guidance
To support CAAs in the decision-making process for the issuance of alleviations, ICAO developed a number of
“Quick Reference Guides” (QRG) describing State and industry best practices on a variety of subjects.
The
ICAO Handbook for Cabin Crew Recurrent Training during COVID-19 (Doc 10148) was developed. It provides guidance that may be used to establish an online recurrent training programme, which can reduce the severity of operational training disruptions.
Further details are available in the
2020 Safety Report.
Implementation packages
On 17 July 2020, ICAO issued Electronic Bulletin 2020/40 informing States of the availability of implementation packages (iPacks) to support States in their response, recovery and resilience efforts following the COVID-19 outbreak. The iPack contents include standardized guidance material, training, workshops, tools and subject matter expert support which aim to facilitate and guide the implementation of the applicable ICAO provisions by State entities.
Medical alleviations
The Aviation Medicine Section implemented a COVID-19 Medical Certification Working Group consisting of aviation medical professionals from Member States and other relevant aviation stakeholders such as the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The group developed a Quick Reference Guide with possible mitigation measures to enable an extension of the validity of a medical assessment certificate until States can return to normal medical certification processes.
