Feature articles this month focus on aviation's impact on the environment. As emphasized by the outcome of the latest meeting of ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), it is particularly important to adopt a global approach to the environmental problems associated with air transport.

Most of our feature articles this month explore aviation security topics, including an article on the task of implementing the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection. Although a major undertaking, the goal is to make the security mechanism fully effective in as short a time as possible.

Special Report - Annual Review of Civil Aviation. ICAO's look back at major developments in civil aviation in 2000, as weel as industry trends and forecasts until 2003.

Several of our articles this month focus on meteorological subjects, including a description of research into a form of clear air turbulence known as the horizontal vortex tube, and studies under way in Europe which examine the effect of weather on wake vortices. The objective of the wake vortex research is to address safety issues related to a relaxation of current aircraft separation rules under certain weather conditions.

Several articles in this edition focus on aviation training, including a report on tire establishment of a new panel of experts that will review flight crew licensing and training standards. Also featured are articles on passenger health, including a summary of a report on the effects of air travel on passenger crew health.

In the aftermath of 11 September, the 33rd Session of the ICAO Assembly dealt extensively with security concerns. Security at airports — and on aircraft — was on every delegate's mind, and became the cornerstone of most discussions. Coverage of the outcome of the Assembly begins on page 5.

A report beginning on page 7 highlights the many advantages of implementing a flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) programme. British Airways has been monitoring data from flight recorders for over 40 years and currently analyses some five gigabytes of data per day.

Feature articles this month address various meteorological topics, including the importance of satellite imagery to the aviation meteorologist.

Significant changes have been taking place in the organization and operation of airports and air navigation services. These trends will be at the forefront of discussions at a worldwide ICAO conference to be held in Montreal this June.

Global air traffic management. Restructuring Hong Kong's airspace. Reducing aircraft separation minima safely.

With millions of passengers, baggage and cargo shipments being transported by the global air transport system every day, implementing effective yet unobtrusive security measures is a demanding business. Our features this month look at different aspects of that challenge, including a plan to achieve harmonized implementation of security measures in Europe.

Annual Report on Civil Aviation - ICAO's look back at major developments in civil aviation in 1999, a report that begins on page 10, includes numerous statistics that reflect industry trends.