Implementation of ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs)
ICAO remains focused on the implementation and development of new safety initiatives. The Air Navigation Bureau (ANB) facilitated the implementation of ICAO provisions and initiatives through tools, guidance materials, training courses and the delivery of workshops to assist States and industry. A new designee system was put in place to improve the timely validation of the corrective actions taken by States to address deficiencies identified under the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).
Safety tools launched by ANB include the automation of regional, State and aerodrome safety briefings to facilitate access to safety-critical information, and a Solution Centre application which links available Global Aviation Training (GAT) Office training packages, as well as industry and State solutions, to address implementation issues identified through the USOAP.
A higher number of USOAP Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) activities were achieved within the existing budget. This was realized through a risk-based approach and enhanced cooperation with Regional Offices and safety partners.
Technical assistance projects funded by the Safety Fund (SAFE) enabled the resolution of Significant Safety Concerns in Kazakhstan and Uruguay and resulted in a substantial increase (over 20 per cent) in USOAP effective implementation (EI) by several States (Guyana, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Uruguay and Zambia). In 2016, technical assistance projects funded from the SAFE began in Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guyana, Jordan, Lebanon and Nepal. Projects in Cambodia, Madagascar, Niger and Paraguay were completed; and a project continued in Uruguay.
ICAO established the Aviation Safety Implementation Assistance Partnership (ASIAP). Assistance was also provided in the development of the Accident Investigation Group (AIG) Regional Cooperation Mechanism for South America.
Guidance material was developed and/or amended to support the implementation of ICAO provisions. This included the
Procedures for Air Navigation Services — Training (Doc 9868) guidance related to training of remote pilots; the first edition of the
Procedures for Air Navigation Services — Aerodromes (Doc 9981); the
Procedures for Air Navigation Services — Air Traffic Management (Doc 4444) updated to include harmonized standard instrument departure/standard instrument arrival (SID/STAR) procedures, as well as the publication of new provisions to address the safety of infant and child passengers, and cabin safety aspects in accidents and incidents.
ICAO launched a course on safety management for practitioners in a collaborative effort between ANB and GAT. A performance-based navigation (PBN) OPS approval course was also established. ICAO’s efforts in the area of PBN resulted in the 70 per cent worldwide implementation of the PBN-required navigation performance approach. Although not yet reaching the 2016 goal of 100 per cent, remarkable progress has been made. However, the need for support to States continues in various PBN areas, and the flight procedure programmes have offered numerous education and implementation opportunities.
A series of regional and global seminars and workshops were held to support the transition from aeronautical information service (AIS) to digital aeronautical information management (AIM), one of the main pillars of system-wide information management (SWIM). Various guidance documents relating to AIM were updated to support PBN implementation.
During 2016, four regional workshops were conducted on remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to assist States in enabling safe operations by unmanned aircraft. These workshops focused largely on issues related to small (less than 25 kg) unmanned aircraft, within the framework being developed for larger RPAS. Additionally, an online toolkit was deployed that provides extensive guidance for regulators developing initial national regulations. The guidance addresses, among other topics, who and what to regulate, safety risk approaches for regulations, education, training and outreach. This toolkit is consistent with the regulatory framework under development for international operations of RPAS, scaled to apply to current “drone” operations.
