​The effective management of air transport facilitation improves the quality and cost-effectiveness of aviation services and enhances civil aviation, a key contributor to global sustainable development. Work on air transport facilitation in ICAO has progressed substantially in recent years, demonstrating notable ongoing value. Meanwhile, the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for aviation, resulting from the closure of borders, emphasized the importance of proactive actions by numerous parties to ensure system, process, and technology resilience.

In 1949, the ICAO Council first adopted Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) on Facilitation, designating them as Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention, 1944). At its 230th session in 2023, the Council, taking note that the Annex had been adopted 75 years prior, reaffirmed the importance of Facilitation and, in doing so, approved 2024 as the Year of Facilitation in recognition of the milestone anniversary for Annex 9.