New ICAO/CANSO agreement to deliver improved air navigation safety

A new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) – designed to improve air navigation safety outcomes worldwide – was signed yesterday evening by the President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Roberto Kobeh González, and the Director General of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), Jeff Poole.

The new ICAO/CANSO MOC creates a framework for enhanced air navigation safety dialogue, cooperation and information exchange between the two global air transport bodies. It will also make it simpler for them to pursue joint training programmes and deliver coordinated expert support in the interest of enhancing the adoption of Safety Management Systems (SMS) risk mitigation approaches.

“The establishment of this framework is an important step in helping CANSO and ICAO achieve the highest levels of aviation safety worldwide,” commented Kobeh. “This priority knows no borders and these types of collaborative data sharing and risk mitigation efforts are essential to helping States and industry proactively identify and address safety threats before they lead to a serious incident or accident.”

The ICAO/CANSO MOC confirms the increasing level of cooperation demonstrated by the two aviation organizations over recent years, notably in the area of runway safety. It also supports development of a new aviation safety intelligence model – a shared safety data bank that will coordinate the collection, analysis and sharing of safety information amongst air transport’s key global players.

“CANSO and ICAO are committed to improving aviation’s already noteworthy safety performance levels by working together and sharing more of our data and expertise,” stressed Poole. “This new MOC reflects CANSO’s recognition that ICAO will be a key partner moving forward. It is also a very concrete example of CANSO’s partnership approach in action and our determination to deliver real value through the improvement and transformation of global ATM performance.”

The signing of the new MOC took place at a special ceremony ahead of the World Air Traffic Management Congress in Madrid, Spain. It is the latest in a series of new partnerships developed by ICAO to improve aviation safety and highlights the UN body’s role as a global focal point for cooperative air transport progress.

Organizations who have formalized similar relationships with ICAO in recent years include the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Commission (EC), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airports Council International (ACI) and the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF).