ICAO EUR/NAT Search and Rescue (SAR) Meeting and Workshop, Paris, France – 19 to 21 November 2025

From 19 to 21 November 2025, the ICAO EUR/NAT Regional Office, in cooperation with the Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO), held a joint meeting and regional workshop on Search and Rescue (SAR) in Paris. The event brought together over 80 representatives from 37 States, including Rescue Coordination Centers (RCCs), regulatory authorities, SAR service providers, and international partners from across the EUR and ACAO areas.

The three-day event opened with the EUR SAR Task Force meeting, followed by a two-day regional workshop aimed at strengthening SAR readiness, improving cross-border coordination, and supporting States in implementing ICAO SAR provisions. The programme also included a practical SAR exercise (SAREX) focused on regional coordination.

During the EUR SAR TF meeting, participants agreed on an amendment to the EUR SAR Plan (EUR Doc 039), incorporating updated global statistics in civil aviation, new abbreviations, and revised information on ICAO GADSS, the Cospas-Sarsat System, and the global situation of SAR related ICAO USOAP effective implementation. The meeting also agreed to develop future EUR guidance material for the preparation of SAR exercises, aimed at supporting States with an example of general instructions, evaluation forms, and templates for final reports. In addition, participants discussed advancing guidance in EUR Doc 049 on SAR operations, with proposed enhancements covering airworthiness certification, safety management, technical crew member roles, and the use of charting and aeronautical databases.  

A key theme of the workshop was the importance of regional SAR cooperation, particularly the need for strong communication channels among aeronautical and maritime RCCs and improved access to real-time tracking information. Participants emphasized the value of bilateral and multilateral SAR agreements, especially those enabling rapid deployment without diplomatic delays, highlighting them as essential tools for saving lives during time-critical operations.

The workshop also addressed SAR oversight and inspector training progammes, recognizing the challenges associated with maintaining robust oversight in a highly specialized domain. Discussions reflected the experiences of several States, including the difficulties of developing standardized inspector training, the small size of the SAR oversight community, and the limited availability of on-the-job training providers. Participants agreed on the need for more structured, regionally aligned training materials to support regulators in meeting their oversight responsibilities.

A key feature of the event was the tabletop SAREX on regional coordination. The exercise highlighted the importance of joint planning, interagency cooperation, and structured debriefing processes to ensure that lessons learned are systematically captured and fed back into regional guidance and training programmes.

The workshop concluded with a strong reaffirmation of the commitment of ICAO EUR/NAT States and ACAO to strengthening SAR services through enhanced cooperation, modernization of training, improved oversight mechanisms, and regular, realistic exercises. For further information and to access the event materials, please visit www.icao.int/EURNAT/meetingdocs/SAR.