Modern safety management principles lead to safety risks being addressed more strategically by regulators and aviation service providers. Since air traffic is projected to increase significantly in the next 15 years, safety risks must be addressed proactively to ensure that this significant capacity expansion is carefully managed and enabled through strategic regulatory and infrastructure developments.
The High-level Safety Conference held in 2010 recommended a new Annex dedicated to States’ safety management responsibilities and processes framed under the State safety programme (SSP). The development of the new Annex was planned using a two-phased approach. The first phase to consolidate the overarching existing safety management provisions previously contained in six other ICAO Annexes was completed with the adoption of Annex 19 – Safety Management by the ICAO Council in February 2013. The Safety Management Annex, representing the first new ICAO Annex to be adopted in over 30 years, became applicable on 14 November 2013.
The first amendment to Annex 19 adopted on 2 March 2016 completes the second phase and is based on existing principles with some restructuring intended to facilitate effective implementation.
Safety Management Flyer (October 2016)