AACM participated in “Directors General of Civil Aviation Conference on a Global Strategy for Aviation Safety”

Organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the “Directors General of Civil Aviation Conference on a Global Strategy for Aviation Safety” was held in Montreal, Canada from 20 to 22 March 2006 with the objective of assessing the current status of aviation safety, identifying ways to achieve improvements and developing a safety framework for the 21st century. About 560 directors-general of aviation, government officials  and industry representatives from over 150 countries and 25 international organizations took part in the conference. The Acting President of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM), Mr. Chan Weng Hong, attended the conference as a delegate from China. 

The conference covered many topics including: worldwide and regional trends in aviation safety, the status of safety oversight, initiatives by States and industry, improving aviation safety, transparency and sharing of safety information, management of aviation safety, unified strategy to resolve safety-related deficiencies, mutual recognition, enhancing safety oversight and safety framework for the 21st century. The President of the Council of ICAO, Dr. Assad Kotaite, said in the conference that the global air transport system was fundamentally safe but it was necessary to further improve aviation safety so as to enhance public confidence in the safety of air transport and support the continued economic contribution of aviation to nations and regions of the world. 

The conference discussed the challenges for enhancing safety due to the rapid growth of air traffic and the globalization of the industry. Some Asia Pacific countries, including China, expressed that there was a lot of pressure on maintaining aviation safety due to such rapid growth. The conference hence reviewed potential solutions to these challenges. The need for transparency and sharing of safety information was therefore at the core of discussions. ICAO implemented the “Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme”in 1999 with the aim of auditing the aeronautical authorities to check their safety inspection procedures. Since 2004, the audit programme has been extended to all safety related entities such as the airport and the air services providers. The results of the audits were published so that states would know about each other’s performance in safety oversight. On this topic, the International Air Transport Association indicated that they had already implemented their own audit programme targeting at their member airlines and the Airports Council International indicated that they were considering the implementation of an airport safety audit programme. 

To assist the aeronautical authorities in conducting their safety oversight, the conference also discussed the effective implementation of Article 33 of the Chicago Convention which states the recognition of certificates and licenses, and the issue for tighter control on the aircraft of foreign carriers as the market for the leasing of aircraft (including wet-leasing) became more open. 

Furthermore, the conference also discussed the liberalization of air transport which has become a hot topic for today’s economic development. The relationship between the industry and the monitoring authority had to be redefined. As airports and airlines were being corporatized or privatized, the role of the regulator had become more significant. For this, ICAO urged all aviation regulators and the industry to comply with the standards of their Safety Management System while fulfilling commercial aims. 

AACM aims at guaranteeing the safe and efficient development of aviation in Macao. It strictly complies with the standards and recommendations of ICAO. In what regards the “Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme”, ICAO conducted its initial audit and follow-up audit respectively in 2001 and 2003 on the safety oversight system of AACM. The results of the initial audit revealed that the effective implementation of the oversight system by AACM was 79%. With much efforts spent on the corrective actions, AACM’s level was up to 95% when the follow-up audit was carried out two years later (the global level at the time of the follow-up audit was 68%).

In addition, to cope with the request for transparency and sharing of safety information by ICAO, AACM allowed the results of the above two audits to be published in ICAO’s website for viewing by the other states.

The Chinese delegation attending the conference was headed by the Vice Minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, Mr. Wang ChangShun and was composed of 19 delegates. The Acting President of AACM, Mr. Chan Weng Hong, participated in the meeting as a  Chinese delegate.

The Chinese delegation participating in “Directors General of Civil Aviation Conference on a Global Strategy for Aviation Safety”.

n the first row are the Vice Minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, Mr. Wang ChangShun (second left), the Director-General of the Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong SAR, Mr. Norman Lo (second right) and the Acting President of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR, Mr. Chan Weng Hong (first right).