Facilitation
Developments pertaining to Annex 9 — Facilitation
and related guidance
The Tenth Meeting of the Facilitation Panel (FALP/10) was held at ICAO Headquarters, Montréal, Canada from 10 to 13 September 2018. The Panel was advised of facilitation-related developments in ICAO since its Ninth Meeting (in 2016), as well as of similar developments in the United Nations and other international organizations. The Panel considered proposals for new/revised Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for Amendment 27 to Annex 9 on subjects including passenger data exchange, dual nationality, and travel documents. The Panel also considered the reports of its Working Group on Guidance Material (WGGM) and its Working Group on the Global Aviation Facilitation Plan (GAFP). States participating in the Panel were invited to provide ideas on how ICAO might enhance its efforts to assist States in implementing Annex 9 SARPs, and discuss potential approaches/tools, including training, such as on the Annex 9 Compliance Checklist (CC) in the Electronic Filing of Differences (EFOD) System, to increase compliance with Annex 9 SARPs. States were also reminded that the Advance Passenger Information (API) is a Standard applicable since February 2018.
FALP/10 documentation can be found at:
Tenth Meeting of the Facilitation Panel.
ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP) Strategy
The Second Meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on the Traveller Identification Programme (TAG/TRIP/2) was held at ICAO Headquarters, Montréal, Canada, from 24 to 26 April 2018. The TAG/TRIP/2 was informed of the wide range of initiatives being coordinated by the Secretariat in the areas of policy-related developments, donor-funded assistance and capacity-building projects. TAG/TRIP endorsed proposals, technical reports and guidance materials, as well as the coordinated future TRIP work programme of the Secretariat and the New Technologies Working Group (NTWG) and the Implementation and Capacity-Building Working Group (ICBWG).
A number of new or updated TRIP-related guidance materials, as endorsed by TAG/TRIP/2, were posted on the ICAO public website. These included the ICAO Guide on Evidence of Identity, the ICAO Guide for Best Practice Guidelines for Optical Machine Authentication, the Implementation Steps of Advance Passenger Information (API) System, a Passenger Name Record (PNR) information leaflet, as well as a set of amendments to the specifications in
Machine Readable Travel Documents (Doc 9303). These guidance materials were developed with the support of the technical experts of the TAG/TRIP working groups and are available on the ICAO TRIP
Publications page.
With the support of the ICBWG, 11 letters were sent to States whose travel documents were assessed as not compliant with Doc 9303 specifications. Some States have already answered, informing that actions have been taken to correct these deficiencies.
ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD)
With a view to encouraging participation in the ICAO PKD, the Secretariat sent letters in July 2018 to the 73 Member States issuing ePassports that are not yet PKD participants. As of 31 December 2018, eight responses were received with the positive intention of joining the PKD in the near future and have requested additional information on the administrative steps in becoming a member.
Accident Victims and Their Families
A special session addressing assistance to accident victims and their families was held on 16 October 2018 alongside the Thirteenth Air Navigation Conference (AN-Conf/13). The session “Ensuring Accident Victims and their Families are Treated the Same the World Over” had the purpose to share relevant legislation, regulations and/or policies of States, together with lessons and experiences.
The event documentation can be found at: Family Assistance Presentations
