Charting the Future of Aviation at Singapore's Second Changi Aviation Summit

On 19 February 2024, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano delivered the organization’s advocacy for a sustainable and resilient recovery of air transport through his keynote address to the Second Changi Aviation Summit (pictured), which was attended by over 400 senior government officials, industry leaders and representatives from international organizations.

Themed “The Future of Aviation: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World”, the Summit provided a crucially important platform for ICAO and the global aviation community to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by air transport internationally.

The address was one of the highlights of the President’s mission to Singapore, which took place from 18 to 21 February 2024. He was accompanied throughout his activities by ICAO’s Regional Director for the Asia Pacific region, Mr Ma Tao.

On the sidelines of the Changi Aviation Summit, Mr. Sciacchitano’s bilateral meetings provided important opportunities to explore ways of advancing and deepening ICAO’s cooperation with its members States.

His meetings included discussions with Singapore’s Minister for Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat (pictured top left); Malaysia’s Minister of Transport, Mr Loke Siew Fook; the Director General of Civil Aviation of the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi; and the Deputy Administrator of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Ms. Kathryn Thomson.

ICAO’s cooperation with Singapore in the area of aviation training took an important step forward following his discussions with Minister Chee, with the signing of two agreements in this area.

The Council President also led a dialogue session with ICAO Council Representatives, Directors-General, and representatives from more than 70 States. The participants exchanged views on the emerging priorities for civil aviation, such as sustainability and resilience, the role of ICAO in these issues, as well as the priorities and challenges for Directors-General today.

Environmental sustainability was a particular priority for the Council President. This was reflected in his participation in a Sustainability Roundtable on the topic of “Accelerating Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Production,” which was attended by more than 70 Directors-General, ICAO Council Representatives, and industry leads from the Singapore energy and finance sectors.

The Roundtable saw lively discussions surrounding the implementation of the Global Framework to achieve the “Vision to reduce CO2 emissions in international aviation by 5 per cent by 2030”, which was adopted at the Third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3).