MONTRÉAL, 18 July 2014 – Some 300 experts from ICAO Member States, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the aeronautical meteorology (MET) community and other industry professionals concluded a two-week meeting at ICAO Headquarters today that set key recommendations for enhancing aeronautical MET service provision.
Recognizing the strategic direction provided by ICAO’s revised Global Air Navigation Plan, the 2014 MET Divisional set out recommendations aligned with the Plan’s aviation system block upgrade (ASBU) methodology, including the integration of digital meteorological information into the future system-wide information management (SWIM) environment. SWIM is seen as a critical component of the future global air traffic management system.
Specific recommendations were made on meteorological services for all phases of flight, including those relating to volcanic ash, radioactive material in the atmosphere and space weather.
“Aeronautical meteorological service provision is essential to safe and efficient global air transport operations,” commented ICAO Council President Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. “The recommendations developed at this meeting will serve to improve both the accuracy and quality of meteorological information – establishing an important foundation as the air transport industry transitions to an increasingly globalized operating environment.”
The gathering also addressed related institutional issues, including meteorological authority designation, cost recovery, regional and sub-regional cooperation, quality management, data quality and personnel competency. Aliu highlighted the importance of the close working relationship between ICAO and WMO as the two organizations continue to work toward their shared objectives.
“Thanks to the close and ongoing collaboration between ICAO and WMO, Member States of both our Organizations are now better positioned to address the challenges that lie ahead,” Aliu stressed. “With progress such as we have seen here at the ICAO MET Divisional over the last two weeks, we can now begin to turn these challenges into opportunities.”
Resources for editors:
Meeting Documentation
The ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan
