Michael Rossell appointed Director of ICAO Relations of Airports Council International

Former United Kingdom Permanent Representative of the International Civil Organization (ICAO), Michael Rossell has been appointed Director of ICAO Relations of Airports Council International. He assumed his role on 9 July.

Ms. Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World stated,“Michael’s broad knowledge of aviation and transport policy, as well as his experience as a Permanent Representative to ICAO will be valuable to ACI as we represent the interests of airports and the communities they serve. We are delighted that Michael has chosen to work with us.”

Mr. Rossell spent the past 26 years with the United Kingdom Department for Transport. Until recently he was the UK Permanent Representative at ICAO where he was the First Vice President of the Council from 2011 to 2012. He was also the founding Chair of the Human Resources Committee, amending staff regulations, introducing an ethics framework and preparing the “Charter Letter” for appointment of Secretary General; and a two-term Chairman of the Finance Committee setting the 2011 to 2013 budget, which was adopted unanimously at the 37th ICAO Assembly in 2010. Mr. Rossell has also represented the ICAO Governing Body on the United Nations’ Pensions Board and was the moderator of the ICAO Regional Aviation Security Conference sessions brokering Joint Statements on aviation security in Delhi, Dakar, Moscow, Kuala Lumpur and Caracas.

Prior to relocating to Montreal, Mr. Rossell spent six years in the European Union in Brussels, working both for the European Commission as a national expert, and as the Transport Attaché representing the UK on EU Council working groups where he developed and negotiated transport policy for adoption by Ministers. He also chaired these groups during the UK Presidency in the second half of 2005, to successfully reach legislative agreement with European Parliament on the aviation safety list, passenger rights for persons of reduced mobility and lorry road user charging (Eurovignette).

Mr. Rossell holds degrees in geology and engineering from Edinburgh, Durham and Sheffield in the UK, and was a Fulbright Fellow studying airline deregulation at the University of Minnesota in the United States.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Rossell stated, “I am delighted to join ACI at this critical time—airports are an essential part of the aviation system and I will work very closely with ICAO and other stakeholders to make sure their voice is heard.”