< PreviousICAO’s structure, processes and outlook have reflected the importance of harmonised standards for business, for safety, for security and for the environment. What is now at issue is how ICAO can best serve its Member States by generating harmonised global standards in a fast-moving environment full of innovators. How ICAO can best meet these needs is a question made all the more important when considering the consequences of failing to meet this challenge. Is it inevitable to expect the marketplace to find a way to adjust so that innovation finds its market without ICAO’s input? And does that point to an ICAO capable only of maintaining that which already exists while other structures or approaches emerge to fill the innovation vacuum? These questions apply equally to a national aviation authority, which led the UK CAA to organise an Innovation Conference last Spring. They asked what innovators thought the role of the regulator should be. Attendees were invited to suggest how the regulator could best position itself in engaging with innovators – not getting involved so early that there is no value to the innovator or regulator but also not leaving engagement so late that outdated and inappropriate regulatory thinking, approaches and standards become unnecessary blockers or hurdles to innovation. Fundamentally, how could a State make sure that its citizens could enjoy the benefits of innovation as quickly as possible and yet be protected adequately from any related hazards or negative effects? Among the Conference attendees were well-established figures in advancing global aviation development. However, a very significant number were innovators from outside aviation. This second group pointed to their difficulty in knowing who to talk to at the UK CAA or in Government about their ideas. They were concerned that engaging with the regulatory authorities would mean inevitable bureaucracy, delay and expense – and maybe even loss of commercial confidentiality and first mover advantage. They also suggested that the aviation regulator’s traditional reactive approach favoured those already established in the aviation sector. From the Conference findings, the UK CAA and UK Government worked together to secure funding for a step change in the UK CAA’s approach to engaging with innovators. PRINCIPLES FOR ENGAGING INNOVATORS The UK CAA Board set out a clear set of principles to guide the organisation’s thinking about its new approach. The Board made clear that it regards innovation as being in the consumer interest and believes that effective engagement with innovators requires a consistent, collaborative and flexible approach. The principles focus on how the organisation engages with innovators and how it prioritises the allocation of its finite resources. These principles inform colleagues across the UK CAA about new and ongoing engagement with innovators and support good corporate governance. The UK CAA’s engagement with innovators will, at all times, seek to uphold these principles while recognising the need to keep these principles under review. (Figure 1) Given its limited resources for engaging with innovators, UK CAA applies these prioritisation principles to its engagement with innovators and innovations: PRIORITISATION PRINCIPLEOUTLINE Public and consumer interest Innovations are prioritised, putting first those that aim to deliver benefits to safety and consumers within the aviation sector. SafetyInnovations must comply with safety and consumer protection standards for the public whilst recognising that government and society’s risk appetite may change over time. ReadinessThe regulator’s facilitation effort is proportionate to the innovator’s readiness for market. NEED FOR A DEDICATED INNOVATION ENGAGEMENT TEAM The aviation sector is experiencing significant technological and business change. New digital and manufacturing technologies have reduced the time Figure 1 PRINCIPLEOUTLINE Public protection and support to innovation At all times, the regulator’s responsibility is to maintain appropriate levels of public and consumer safety, security and economic protection. Responsibility for the commercial success, or otherwise, of any individual product or service always remains with the innovator. The regulator has a role to facilitate innovation, including setting out how innovators should engage with the regulator. IndependenceThe UK CAA develops a clear offer to stakeholders and treats all engagements in a similar manner. Regulatory resources are finite and so some limits or rationing of resources allocated to individual innovators are required. TransparencyThe regulator’s guidance/standards and engagement mechanisms are clear and transparent. ObjectivityThe regulator’s engagement with individual innovators is structured and non-exclusive. Appropriate charging model To facilitate innovation, UK CAA does not charge for initial discussions and support. However, in line with existing industry practice, there are charges when granting regulatory approvals. 28 | ICAO JOURNAL | ISSUE 1 | 2019 FUTURE AVIATION REGULATIONneeded to bring new products and services to market and increased the opportunities for new innovations to be created. However, for these products and services to come to market, innovators need to address challenges such as scalability and integration of existing technologies. The UK CAA concluded that a new regulatory approach was necessary to support innovators as they face these challenges. While legacy players continue to play a significant role in the aviation sector, they are being joined in the markets by new entrants with much more limited familiarity with traditional aviation regulatory practices and timescales. As well as the more evident projects such as drones and spaceplanes, many are developing increasingly autonomous systems that could prove valuable in easing skill shortages in key safety-critical roles in aviation. This is why the UK CAA has committed to ensuring that “we do not act as a barrier to technological developments which have the potential to deliver significant benefits, including strengthening the already high standards of safety and consumer protection that consumers and the public expect.” The traditional approach of reacting to proposals when received from industry inadvertently favours legacy players with existing knowledge of regulation. The new approach aims to engage with innovators at the most effective point in their innovation development and provide a structured and transparent platform to provide targeted assistance as they prepare to meet the regulatory standards needed to give access to the market. To make this new approach a reality, the UK CAA is building a team that will be dedicated to engagement with innovators. Though its ambition for the team is big, UK CAA’s leadership wants to begin modestly, learn, prove the concept and scale up based on the experience gained and on the demand for this service. Key to the concept is the idea that the UK CAA team will engage with innovators directly in a targeted proactive way – reaching out to innovators and positively interacting with them rather than rely on the traditional more reactive model of regulation. GATEWAY, SANDBOX AND LAB The UK CAA is overhauling its approach to innovation by setting up a function focussed on innovators and innovation. The intent is to significantly improve the regulator’s ability to enable innovators to develop new products and services to come to market in the aviation sector. A dedicated function within the UK CAA will deliver this improvement through better access to regulatory advice and through an engagement approach that helps the regulator to respond better to fast-paced developments while maintaining aviation safety and consumer protection. The new function will run three new initiatives: 1. an Innovation Gateway, 2. a Regulatory Sandbox, and 3. a Regulatory Laboratory. The Innovation Gateway is a public-facing advisory and engagement service that aims to reach out to innovators with new ideas and proposals and encourage them to come and talk with the UK CAA. The regulator’s team provides fast feedback while also learning and building the CAA’s own understanding of emerging innovations. By Regulatory Sandbox, UK CAA means a safe environment for innovators to collaborate with the regulator. The regulator is not in the mode of assessing innovations for approval; rather, it is providing enhanced advice to help innovators to do controlled testing of new products and services with the help of controlled exemptions from aviation regulations. The innovators can develop their ideas about how to meet the requirements that will allow them to bring an innovation to market. During the process, the regulator gathers evidence that allows it to develop its own capabilities and expertise as well as enabling regulations to be developed in an iterative manner such that, longer term, case-by-case approvals for these operations are replaced by a revamped regulatory environment. The Regulatory Lab is a forum that brings together regulators, government, industry and broader stakeholders. It is aimed at innovations that are closer to a concept than an offering ready for market. The Lab is a regulatory environment that provides a means to tackle significant technological, regulatory and policy challenges which stand in the way of innovations in mobility and transport and find solutions. CONSIDERATIONS: TEAM, FOCUS, EVIDENCE Initial team: A team of seven people is currently being recruited. The UK CAA is looking for experience already gained through engagement with innovators and emerging technologies in the aviation or similar sectors of any emerging trends and challenges in technology. Also sought is experience of developing regulatory frameworks in aviation or another similar industry with a strong emphasis on emerging technology. Finally, there is a need for proven ability to communicate effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences and to produce concise, unambiguous advice for presentation to various audiences. Initial focus: The new function will work with a range of UK bodies already dedicated to supporting academic, business and industrial innovation in the UK. The focus will be on topics supporting UK airspace modernisation, “ The UK CAA has committed to ensuring that “ we do not act as a barrier to technological developments which have the potential to deliver significant benefits, including strengthening the already high standards of safety and consumer protection that consumers and the public expect. ” www.ICAO.int | 29 FUTURE AVIATION REGULATIONHOW TO ENABLE NON-AVIATION PLAYERS IN THE NEW AIRSPACE A CONVERSATION WITH THE UK CAA’S REGULATORY INNOVATION LEADERS How does a regulator go about evaluating a new technology from companies which have had no previous experience with airspace and safety requirements? ICAO Journal editor Rick Adams spoke with Tim Johnson, UK CAA Policy Director, and Emma Simpson, Head of the CAA’s new innovation project. venture capitalists, SMEs (small and medium- size enterprises) and traditional aviation and aerospace players who are driving innovation for the sector and establishing new products and services that will shape the future for mobility. These initiatives recognise the changing nature of aviation, with increasingly autonomous systems and the use of new types of aircraft in complex environments such as cities. At the UK CAA ‘Enabling Innovation in Aviation’ conference in London and the 2018 World Economic Forum Drone Innovators Network, industry strongly expressed its desire for a new approach to regulatory advice at earlier stages in the development of technologies. In 2018, PA Consulting found that nearly one in three businesses in the transport sector view regulators as blocking innovation. Most want regulators to retain or increase their enabling role with an increase in driving innovation. This demand challenges the UK CAA, whose primary engagement model is one the management of drones, the integration of unmanned traffic management solutions into UK infrastructure to help tackle the challenge of sustainable urban passenger transport in UK cities, and the facilitation of new concepts in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and green growth in transport, including the development of electric propulsion systems. Evidence of the need for a new regulatory approach: The UK CAA is frequently approached by global technology firms, WHAT TRIGGERED THE AUTHORITY TO LAUNCH THIS INNOVATION INITIATIVE? Johnson: People were coming to us, asking how can you help us deliver my new innovation to market? People who are new to the sector and know nothing about aviation regulation or who the CAA is and what it does. The challenge they put to us was can you be clearer as to the role of the regulator in this space and what you will do to support us? Our job continues to be keeping passengers physically and economically safe. But we also want to think about some of the growth consequences and not regulating in a way that is unnecessarily burdensome on innovation. Simpson: We were seeing things like the proliferation of drones, and we had an expectation around larger military- type drones and how we might integrate them into our airspace. But then we saw different aspects of that market that we hadn’t quite anticipated: recreational small drones were flooding the market. At the same time, cybersecurity became an increasingly important element we had to factor in. And the third thing we needed to face was people wanting to do commercial space launches within the UK. These are not things that we have traditional skill sets for regulating, and we also have people coming into the market who are not traditional customers. How do we take a really different and fresh approach to this? ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THAT MANY INNOVATORS NEW TO THE AVIATION SECTOR ARE STARTUPS BACKED WITH PERHAPS SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR OF FUNDING. THEY VIEW THE TRADITIONAL REGULATION PROCESS AS AN INNOVATION KILLER. HOW CAN A REGULATOR ACCELERATE THE APPROVAL PROCESS? Johnson: A regulator cannot be responsible for the commercial success of each individual venture, but what we can do is recognize that for new types of technology coming into aviation we need to have a sensible and proportional regulatory role to first protect the safety of passengers but that doesn’t necessarily get in the way of good progress. The more we can get to a sector-wide approach to some of these issues, that will be a much clearer way how we interact with innovators. There’s also a very practical limit on the resources and time we’ve got available; it’s not limitless. The more we can be clear – here’s the regulatory framework, here’s how you go through it – the better we’ll be able to manage our engagement with innovators. Simpson: The traditional reaction of the regulator is to make sure it’s safe. The INTERVIEW 30 | ICAO JOURNAL | ISSUE 1 | 2019 FUTURE AVIATION REGULATIONis to offer transparent access to innovators, whether they are legacy players or new entrants, and on a level playing field. GLOBALISED INNOVATION REGULATION? The UK CAA’s initiative aims to create an opportunity to actively bring business improvement to the aviation sector and its regulatory approach, to deliver public aspirations for the future of air travel and to assist the UK in playing its part in developing global and domestic regulatory policy and legal frameworks for a globalised aviation market. Although still in the early stages of evolving its thinking, UK CAA leaders have offered to share their experiences – good and bad – with ICAO. Other States too are developing new approaches to innovation and will have much of value to contribute too. Maybe, we can learn together? of issuing approvals for existing aviation products to legacy players, under a set of core safety and consumer protection requirements. The UK CAA finds it difficult to respond to the growing demand to facilitate and enable innovation at the same speed as the technological developments driven by industry. While there is important pre-existing contact with innovators across several domains, this is not structured, formalised or transparent. A new approach is essential if the regulator default position of civil aviation authorities is to make as sure as we can that there’s going to be no additional risk. We want to enable growth and sustainability. It’s much more sensible to say what it is you’re looking for from us earlier, so by the time you’re ready with your new technology we’ve been involved in the conversation. We’ve been able to work with you, and we’re prepared for what’s coming. The dynamics of some of these markets is that operators don’t have the business model to support a two-year application process. We need to be engaged earlier. We want people who are non-aviation to approach us in the first instance regarding who and how and what time scale. It’s much better to be involved upfront as they’re developing and we can set out the things that are important to us so innovators can take those issues into account. It’s much harder if those developers are further down the track and you’re trying to insert your requirements late. We will be able to be a better regulator if we’re clearer earlier as to what the requirements are rather than being reactive. MANY REGULATORS WORLDWIDE ARE FACING SIMILAR ISSUES. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS PRIORITIES? Johnson: A key priority, if we’re seeing 20 different versions of the same thing, is to get to a system-wide approach for dealing with those technologies. The question becomes do regulations move at a global pace or are there different levels of ambition among different architectures or regions in the world? At the ICAO Air Navigation Conference, we came away with a strong sense that there are parts of the world that have an appetite to move much more quickly with innovative technology developments. Does everyone move together, or do you have a slightly more dynamic approach where some countries can move more quickly, either unilaterally or in a group and that can help set the scene for potential changes at a more global level? We absolutely recognize that we work within and contribute to international frameworks of regulation at ICAO and with EASA. We want a standard approach to regulation, at a minimum at the regional level, preferably at a global level because that makes a clear, common path that is much easier to navigate. WHERE ARE YOU AT IN THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING THE UK CAA INNOVATION TEAM AND PROCESS? Simpson: There is a lot we enable already. We’re trying to improve the process by which we enable those nonstandard operations by being smarter and sharing information, including with non-aviation regulators such as environmental protection, transport integration, telecoms. It’s not that we need to start again and write a whole series of new rules. It’s more helping to demystify regulation and entrance into the aviation market, and then consider whether there are areas for which there is no precedent and we need to start building a new framework for those. We’re working on what our operating model will be and where the needs might lie. We have identified areas of focus such as urban air mobility, and we’re working with industry to flesh out what those skill sets should be, such as software developers and different talents we haven’t had to recruit for previously. There will be jobs that people can apply for. We’re looking at how we harness the considerable expertise and links we already have within the organization, and how we harness communication flows between the innovation team and those that have those outward links. This is a key cultural shift at the CAA, not only in how we operate internally but in how we’re perceived externally. www.ICAO.int | 31 FUTURE AVIATION REGULATIONCREATE THE FUTURE OF AVIATION WITH For more information, or to upload your submissions, visit: Imagine, sketch and share your futuristic vision of flight with the world! Submission deadline: 30 June icao.int/FutureAviation PROTOTYPES competition (ages 18+) CONCEPTS competition (ages 13-17) IDEAS competition (ages 6-12) $1,000 prize$2,000 prize$5,000 prizeTHE FUTURE OF MRO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE Maintenance is a major contributor to aircraft operating costs, flight delays and cancellations. Despite longer- lasting aircraft and more durable engines, airlines now spend more on maintenance than on fuel or crew. The need to keep assets operationally available while cutting maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) costs is a pressing issue. Aircraft operators are pushing for faster troubleshooting, automated aircraft inspection to reduce downtime; better task planning, and optimized parts management. OEMs, MROs, and suppliers are responding with a range of innovative technologies and techniques, including robots, drones, virtual / augmented / mixed reality aids, machine learning / neural networks / artificial intelligence, blockchain, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, and more. Highlighted here are just a few of the hundreds of initiatives in process to maintain aircraft smarter, faster, cheaper. INSPECTION ROBOTS AND DRONES Today, typical visual inspections of commercial aircraft can take up to six hours. Robots and drones have the potential to cut this time dramatically while offering greater accuracy of checks, freeing up engineers’ time, reducing maintenance costs and improving safety. Miniature, cockroach-inspired camera robots, deployed in “swarms,” will be able to be turned loose inside an engine to help inspection of difficult-to-access components. Rolls-Royce plans to develop 1-cm-long (0.4-in) versions which can even remove and replace defective material, EasyJet and Thomas Cook Airlines have experimented with an autonomous drone, developed by MRO Drone, that can inspect a full narrowbody exterior in 30 minutes and a widebody in one hour. Using technology borrowed from nuclear reactor inspection, the RAPID (Remote Automated Plane Inspection and Dissemination) system can also inspect specific structures such as after reports of a bird strike. Zurich-based SR Technics is using a robot from Invert Robotics (New Zealand) that uses a patented suction mechanism to adhere to and traverse a range of surfaces including aluminium, glass and carbon fibre; even when aircraft surfaces are wet or require an upside-down inspection. Equipped with high-definition cameras and sensor technology, the robot records and transmits video images to a ground- based screen for real-time analysis by line-maintenance staff, enabling efficient visual inspections on the tarmac or in the hangar. The robot may soon also include ultra-sound and thermographic testing. The SPIRIT project is bringing together eight partners from Austria, Germany and Italy to develop a robotic inspection solution using a range of various inspection devices – such as 3D surface inspection, thermography or X-ray – that will eliminate complications involved in programming a robot motion path. The project aims to reduce the time-consuming and expensive process when programming robots for an application-specific solution. HANGAR OF THE FUTURE Airbus’ Hangar of the Future (HoF) project combines various technologies to digitize and automate maintenance activities to increase overall maintenance The Airbus Air-Cobot robot could be connected with a flying drone to access the top of the aircraft and speed up data capture. Inspired by cockroaches, a prototype of Rolls-Royce’s engine-inspection robot. www.ICAO.int | 33 SAFETY AND EFFICIENCYprocess efficiency. HoF combines the use of innovative technologies and smart, IoT (internet of Things)-connected equipment such as ‘cobots’ (collaborative robots – like the “Air-Cobot” shown in the photo), drones, scanners, cameras, non-destructive sensors, with aircraft technical documentation and aircraft in-service data collated through Airbus’ open data platform, Skywise. AUGMENTED AND MIXED REALITY “The Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAPs) entering the aviation industry represent a new generation of learners. To engage and meet their needs, the aviation community has been harnessing innovative technologies to look beyond tradition training methods and enhance workforce practices,” says Ms. Lori Brown, a professor at Western Michigan University and the ICAO NGAP programme Outreach Chair. Brown has teamed with Microsoft to apply Hololens to overlay 3D holographic content onto the physical world to train technicians how to maintain aircraft. Students can be immersed, for example, inside a jet turbofan engine or interact with 3D cockpits. “HoloLens is intuitive and offers a natural means of interaction. There’s no mouse, wire or touch screen. All you need are simple gestures to create and alter holograms, your voice to communicate with apps, and your eyes to navigate and analyze content,” Brown explains. Aircraft Maintenance Organizations (AMOs) performing maintenance on an international basis may face a multiplicity of requirements and must maintain duplicative procedures manuals, quality assurance systems, and personnel requirements, as well as undergo inspections from the various States whose operators use their services. One AMO, for example, reports having to deal with more than 100 audits a year. Not only is this practice inefficient, it is also a significant burden to an AMO, does not provide a stable platform for standardization of maintenance practices and, consequently creates a potential for errors, leading to a safety concern. It has become more urgent for ICAO to develop improved harmonized and simplified provisions that enhance the efficiency of aircraft transfers, certifications, importation, and the acceptance of maintenance carried out by AMOs. In 2010, at a High-Level Safety Conference in Montréal, it was recommended that ICAO develop a globally harmonized approach to the approval and recognition of maintenance organisations by other Contracting States to improve safety and efficiency. A second High Level Safety Conference in 2015 made further recommendations for the development of a global framework and regional initiatives to reduce duplication of certification and surveillance activities of maintenance organizations. The first and second phases have been delivered by the Airworthiness panel of experts and have been adopted by the ICAO Council as amendment 106 to Annex 8, and amendment 43 to Annex 6 Part I, with applicability in November 2020. They include the transfer of the AMO requirements from Annex 6 to Annex 8 to make it clear that the responsibility for AMO approval lies with the State of Registry, as well as Standardization of the AMO approval certificate. The third and fourth phases, targeted for applicability in 2022 and 2024, take into consideration the HLSC2015 requesting ICAO to consider the development of a global framework and regional initiatives to reduce duplication of certification and surveillance activities of AMOs. This includes reviewing the existing ICAO SARPs and associated guidance material to incorporate more detailed requirements to be met by AMOs, as well as a standard rating system. Ms. Maimuna Taal, technical officer in the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau, said the objective is for States “to adopt this template as a starting point. At some point in the future, it is envisaged that it will become a Standard, including any need for amendments, as was done with the AOC (Air Operators Certificate) process.” “ICAO is taking a step-by-step approach to address the issues of mutual recognition,” she added. “We will learn from experiences gained to move forward with this initiative until we reach our end goal.” Standardizing Maintenance Organization Requirements 34 | ICAO JOURNAL | ISSUE 1 | 2019 SAFETY AND EFFICIENCYBoeing is using “smart glasses” augmented reality (AR) from Upskill to simplify the compex process for wire installation, resulting in a 25 per cent reduction in production time and lowered error rates to effectively zero. The AR system that enables kitting of 3D drawings based on wire installation plans, which are presented to the end user, spatially aligned to an aircraft, on a wearable device. BIG DATA By 2025, more than 38.000 new aircraft will be in operation worldwide, producing many times more data than previous generation aircraft. The proliferation of sensors on modern aircraft combined with better data routers has led to a 60-fold increase in the number of data parameters collected from each flight, says Mr. Serge Panabiere, Airbus head of services business development. The newest engines can generate up to one terabyte of data each cycle. For MROs, this means an increasing amount of data knowledge along with a growing complexity of their businesses. To better manage this deluge of data, MROs are turning to big data, machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, artificial intelligence, blockchain and other developing information management technologies. Lufthansa Technik, the world’s largest independent provider of MRO services, has created a digital platform for the aviation industry, AVIATAR, using a hybrid “cloud” infrastructure based on enterprise open source software from Red Hat. The company’s application development teams collaborate with data scientists, airplane engineers and other experts to better predict events using a shared repository of industry data, such as aircraft sensor data, as well as operational data, such as flight plans and delay information. Airbus developed the Skywise open platform to collect the vast amount of data coming from in-service aircraft, combine them with airline and OEM data and conduct in-depth data analysis to develop applications aiming at anticipating and optimizing maintenance. Airbus offers free access to anonymized operational data to any airline that submits its own. Thus, participating airlines benefit from a useful benchmarking tool, while Airbus receives the data it needs to refine its paid-for predictive maintenance product. Through Professor Lori Brown’s HoloLens work, Western Michigan University was the first university aviation program to use augmented reality in the classroom. Switzerland-based information technology company SITA says half of airlines responding to a survey plan to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing in the next three years. www.ICAO.int | 35 SAFETY AND EFFICIENCYIn a world of ever-increasing digital transactions and ever-Increasing international air traffic volumes, how can border authorities manage traveller facilitation without compromising security and while maintaining interoperability? ICAO’s New Technologies Working Group (NTWG) established a specialized sub-group to work on standardizing a digital travel credential (DTC) using the ePassport as the benchmark, given that it offers a secure, portable, verifiable and “unclonable” token. An estimated 139 States have issued more than one billion ePassports to date. The growing number of ePassports improve the travel network by enhancing facilitation for travellers and improve security for border management. One particular advantage of the ePassport is the digitization of the traveller’s biographic and biometric data stored in an integrated circuit (a “chip”) embedded in the book. Not only does this chip data verify the passport bearer’s identity through facial recognition, it also provides authorities with the tools to authenticate the travel document. However, the ePassport has yet to be fully leveraged to provide all of the possible benefits to change the way travellers clear checkpoints. The DTC envisioned by the NTWG uses the technology available in the ePassport to create a credential that can bring additional benefits, while maintaining a balance between security and facilitation. LEVERAGING KEY ATTRIBUTES For a DTC to be effective and practical it needs to maintain the key attributes already contained in the ePassport: Verifying entities must be able to authenticate the credentials supplied; Inclusion of a means to protect against cloning; Capable to accept and store pertinent holder and/or travel data; Protection of the privacy of the user; and Verification processes must be at least as secure as for ePassports. A DTC essentially serves the same functions as an ePassport in reliably confirming the identity of the traveller. Additional benefits include: An improvement to passenger flows by allowing travellers to provide their data in advance and engage in more self-service; The ability for airports and airlines to link additional data, such as a boarding pass, to the DTC; and Advance provision of passenger data to aviation stakeholders to support biometric matching through controlled checkpoints, to facilitate biometric boarding and assist in improving prearrival security and/or risk assessment. For these benefits to be realized, wide acceptability of globally interoperable features and an issuers ability to control the credential are paramount. THE CHALLENGE OF BALANCE There a number of established and emerging e-Identity schemes around the world; airports and airlines have an increasing number of stand-alone traveller facilitation schemes. These solutions leverage a range of differing technologies and use a variety of form factors. The sub-group considered a range of technologies, or ‘form factors,’ such as smart devices, closed servers, remote servers, and distributed ledgers. The form factors were evaluated against four basic criteria to ensure the credential could be: 1. Produced from a Travel Document Issuing Authority. 2. Capable of being provided unaltered to verifying entities in advance of the traveller’s journey or arrival. 3. Globally interoperable to ensure that it could be used in different environments. 4. Adopted by travellers. This requires creating trust that the DTC is as, or more, secure than an ePassport, and biographic and biometric data will be handled in a manner ensuring the protection of the traveller’s personal data and privacy. NTWG DEVELOPING HYBRID DIGITAL TRAVEL CREDENTIAL THE FUTURE OF TRAVELLER IDENTITY Secure, trusted traveller ID remains an ever-present need amidst global turmoil. How can the airline industry adapt to meet changing needs? 36 | ICAO JOURNAL | ISSUE 1 | 2019 THE FUTURE OF TRAVELLER IDENTITYcheck verifies the digital signature in the chip and that the digital certificate was used by a bonafide authority when the data in the chip was sealed. It confirms that the biographic and biometric data endorsed in the document when it was issued has not been altered. The authority can then confidently rely on the information in the chip to compare against the information printed in the physical passport book, and if need be, against the traveller themselves. Can a hybrid credential match this level of confidence? Linking the virtual travel credential to one or more physical tokens enables the verifying entity, such as a border agent, to perform additional active authentication of the credential when required for increased security. The physical token can be used to retrieve the data from the remote system by authenticating the holder of the virtual credential to that system. This model is preferred by the ICAO NTWG because the credential is already securely linked to the issuing authority. The physical token allows the verifier to select the correct virtual credential (potentially provided in advance). It also provides the flexibility to decide whether the virtual credential is sufficient, or the physical token (the authenticator) is additionally required. One of the advantages in the DTC is that it provides several options for creation and form without losing the benefits of interoperability. The DTC itself could be derived from an existing ePassport. Or the issuing authority could create the DTC and has the option to store the virtual component on a remote system or securely on a smart device. When booking or checking in, travellers could send their virtual component in advance to the border authority in an electronic system for travel authorization (ESTA) process or using API / PNR etc. When they arrive at the airport, they could use their token, whether it is a physical token such as their phone, or purely virtual token, such as their facial biometric, to pass through the different checkpoints in the airport journey. If not sent in advance, the virtual component must be able to be read in a standardized method using passive authentication. ON TRACK FOR 2020 Development of technical specifications, proof of concept and testing methodologies for the Hybrid DTC are underway. The Working Group continues to resolve policy issues such as issuance, revocation and inclusion of additional travel data. Their aim is to have the DTC technical specifications presented for endorsement by the ICAO TAG / TRIP conference in 2020. This article was adapted from Uniting Aviation. Each form factor has positives, but each also presents limitations that would result in a solution less secure than an ePassport. Few would be globally interoperable, and all would present security concerns unacceptable for most, if not all, border authorities. However, by combining one or more of the form factors with available technology in the ePassport, there is opportunity to create a hybrid credential that would meet all the basic criteria and key attributes, and bring additional benefits without losing the balance between security, facilitation and interoperability. THE PREFERRED SOLUTION – a Hybrid DTC A hybrid credential is a combination of a virtual token (credential) linked to one or more physical tokens (authenticators). The credential could be stored in a remote system, such as a database or webserver, and the authenticator could be an ePassport, smart card, or mobile phone. This combines the virtual and the physical in a way that merges the advantages of both approaches, while minimizing disadvantages. When defining options for issuance of these tokens, virtual credentials would have to include many of the same security elements of the current ePassport, including authentication, when required by inspection authorities. Authentication currently takes place when the chip in the ePassport is electronically validated by the border authority – a simple electronic check that ensures the ePassport is authentic. This LOUISE COLE Manager of Information Partnerships for the Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand. www.ICAO.int | 37 THE FUTURE OF TRAVELLER IDENTITYNext >