ICAO signs new agreements to better align international aviation standardization

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ICAO concluded new technical information agreements that will help ensure greater alignment between its global aviation standards and the related work being pursued by RTCA Inc., the European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE), SAE International, and ARINC Industry Activities.

The four memoranda were signed on the sidelines of the UN aviation agency’s Second Global Air Navigation Industry Symposium (GANIS/2) which was held during Aviation Week at ICAO Headquarters from 11-15 December 2017. The event established new partnerships in aid of more integrated sectoral standards for communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) systems and air traffic management (ATM).

Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu formalized the agreements on behalf of ICAO, and was joined on the occasion by the President of  EUROCAE, Mr. Francis Schubert, the President of the RTCA, Ms. Margaret Jenny, SAE International’s Director of Aerospace Standards, Mr. David Alexander, and the Executive Director of ARINC Industry Activities, Mr. Michael D. Rockwell.

ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu (centre) formalized the new information sharing agreements on behalf of ICAO with (from left to right) SAE International’s Director of Aerospace Standards, Mr. David Alexander; the President of EUROCAE, Mr. Francis Schubert; the President of the RTCA, Ms. Margaret Jenny; and the Executive Director of ARINC Industry Activities, Mr. Michael D. Rockwell.

“The exchange of information permitted by these new agreements will be very helpful to ICAO’s efforts to develop mature and comprehensive standards for international civil aviation,” Dr. Liu emphasized. “Industry standards serve unique and often complementary roles in support of global air navigation objectives, which underscore the importance of ICAO’s provisions being fully compatible with the efforts of these new partners.”

In addition to aligning the work of the important agencies responsible for standards affecting international aviation operations, the new agreements also iron out some helpful aspects relating to confidentiality requirements and intellectual property rights.

But most importantly,” Dr. Liu stressed, “the enhanced interoperability these agreements have achieved will directly support improved sectoral performance in terms of aviation’s safety, sustainability and efficiency.”

ICAO’s GANIS 2017 event was followed back-to-back by the Organization’s first ever Safety and Air Navigation Implementation Symposium (SANIS), you can view selected presentations from the event on the Live Streams page.