The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) took delivery of the second and final part of a Global Aviation Safety Roadmap developed by members of the air transport industry, in consultation with ICAO safety specialists, and designed to establish one level of aviation safety worldwide.

This marks the first time that governments and industry have jointly developed a unified and coordinated approach to reducing accident rates, particularly in developing regions of the world, in accordance with ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan.

The Roadmap was produced by the Industry Safety Strategy Group (ISSG) composed of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airbus, Boeing, Airports Council International (ACI), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA). All ISSG members are committed to assisting in the implementation of the Roadmap and to updating the document as required.

Part 1 of the Roadmap – A Strategic Action Plan for Future Aviation Safety – provides the framework for action by Contracting States of ICAO, Regions and the industry to correct inconsistencies and weaknesses in 12 main focus areas, including implementation of international standards, regulatory oversight, incident and accident investigation, Safety Management Systems (SMS) and sufficient qualified personnel. The document sets one or more short-term and medium-term objectives for each focus area over the next ten years.

Part 2 – Implementing the Global Aviation Safety Roadmap – describes and prioritizes specific coordinated actions by industry to reduce risk and improve safety worldwide. For each objective identified in Part 1, it proposes best practices with related industry references and compliance metrics. Part 2 also includes Annexes containing recommendations on existing and proven technologies (and associated training programmes) to further enhance safety in flight operations, airport operations and air traffic control domains, as well as regional implementation through a knowledge-based regional assessment and deployment strategy.

The Roadmap initiative stems from a May 2005 meeting between ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission and industry representatives where it was acknowledged that further enhancements to aviation safety worldwide required a better alignment of strategies and coordination of efforts by all stakeholders. It was agreed that a global safety roadmap would provide the necessary framework for such action and IATA offered to coordinate the effort.

Part 1 of the Roadmap was delivered to ICAO in December 2005 and subsequently endorsed by a Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation of ICAO Contracting States in March 2006, with a recommendation that, “ICAO, in collaboration with all States and other stakeholders, continue development of an integrated approach to safety initiatives based on the Global Aviation Safety Roadmap – a global framework for the coordination of safety policies and initiatives.”