Regional Office Achievements
Safety and air navigation capacity and efficiency
All ICAO Regional Offices reported that the number of States with Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) had either been reduced or had remained the same. Five of the seven Regional Offices also reported that either the average of their States’ effective implementation (EI) of the critical elements of a State safety oversight system had increased, or the number of States within their Regions having an EI above 60 per cent had increased. In addition, all ICAO Regional Offices reported that there were improvements in air navigation capacity and efficiency realized through the introduction of new routes and services. Many of the Regions had introduced new performance-based navigation (PBN) routes, and there was an increasing use of inter-regional coordination to improve traffic flows across ICAO Regions. The majority of the Regional Offices also reported that they had either increased their support activities for aerodrome certification or had seen an increase in the number of international aerodrome certifications within their Regions.
During 2017, several of the ICAO Regions faced both natural and man-made (i.e. conflicts and political tensions) crises that impacted international civil aviation operations. The Organization’s role in coordinating States’ contingency plans within a Region and across Regions consistently proved to facilitate the continuity and regularity of international civil aviation during crises.
Security and facilitation
The Regional Offices continued to support Security and Facilitation initiatives within their Regions. Primarily, this support consisted of organizing major Security and/or Facilitation meetings, supporting aviation security training activities and organizing in-country assistance activities. Notably, the Asia and Pacific (APAC) Office organized its first dedicated Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum. The Middle East (MID) Office, in collaboration with the Eastern and Southern African (ESAF) Office and Western and Central African (WACAF) Office, convened the Regional Ministerial Conference on Aviation Security in Africa and the Middle East. The MID Office also established its first AVSECFAL group. In addition, APAC convened a Regional Conference on Aviation Security on 20-21 December that endorsed a new APAC Aviation Security Roadmap that will align national and regional programmes and targets with the ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP).
Environment
While support for this Strategic Objective represents a new competency in several of the ICAO Regions, work progressed on achievements in this domain. All ICAO Regional Offices reported that Action Plans on CO2 emissions reduction had been developed by States within their Region. Several of the Regions reported that 40 per cent or more of the States to which their Office is accredited had developed their Action Plans. In addition, several of the Regional Offices assisted in the conduct of seminars on the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
No Country Left Behind Implementation
The majority of the Regional Offices reported that their direct in-country assistance had increased. Much of this assistance was provided under the auspices of the No Country Left Behind (NCLB) Initiative. Several Regional Offices developed institutional strategies to implement NCLB activities. Notably, MID Region States endorsed the MID Region NCLB Strategy; all States within the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACC) Region signed the Declaration of Intent for Implementing the NACC NCLB Strategy; and the European and North Atlantic Office (EUR/NAT) established an NCLB Technical Assistance Programme. The South American (SAM) Region provided much of its support through the SAM Regional Safety Oversight Cooperation System (SRVSOP). APAC Combined Action Teams, under the auspices of NCLB, helped five States to improve their EI to above 60 per cent in 2017. The AFI Plan and AFI SECFAL Plan were established to assist States in the AFI Regions.
