“Flight for All” in Mumbai highlights importance of cooperation

At the Mumbai Aviation Summit, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu took time to recognise the significant aviation development leadership presently being demonstrated by India, and urged its leaders to leverage its resources and expertise further in aid of the many regional priorities for aviation growth now facing the Asia Pacific. 

Focusing on the role that new innovations will play in helping aviation to confront forecast growth, Dr. Aliu highlighted that air transport is “on the brink of some major transformations, including the increasing deployment of drone technology, the launch of autonomous, suborbital, and supersonic activities, as well as other innovations such as artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies.” 

He said: “We must embrace these transformations and prepare for them through the implementation of new physical and regulatory infrastructure to keep our sector vital, efficient, and fully responsive to the needs and expectations of modern businesses and societies.” 

The Mumbai Summit’s theme of “Flying for All” reflected the growing importance of air connectivity to sustainable national prosperity, and the dynamic efforts being undertaken by India to foster aviation development to the benefit of all of its citizens. 

The country is forecast to become the world’s third largest aviation market by 2025, and Dr. Aliu accordingly encouraged India and the other States in attendance to augment their air transport development successes through enhanced implementation of ICAO standards and guidance for network safety, capacity, security, and sustainability, including the CORSIA strategy for emissions reduction and offsetting. 

Dr. Aliu noted: “Aviation growth must be managed effectively, and the ICAO Global Plans for Aviation Safety (GASP), Air Navigation (GANP), and more recently Aviation Security (GASeP), provide the global objectives and strategies to assist our member States in responding to the challenges of growth on an aligned basis.” 

He also underscored that adherence to ICAO’s Global Plans bolsters investor certainty in major air transport infrastructure and R&D, stressing that “the role of aligned national development planning and air transport strategies cannot be overemphasised.”