Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 1 seconds.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Airports Council International (ACI) have signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) to provide a framework for the highest possible levels of safety at airports worldwide.
The memorandum, Enhanced Cooperation to Improve Safety Standards at Airports Worldwide, will support the development of the ACI Airport Excellence in Safety Program; create joint technical assistance projects; allow for the regular exchange of safety-relevant information and data by providing mutual access to databases; see the two organizations exchange experts and provide training; and promote regional cooperation.
The MoC was signed by ICAO Council president, Roberto Kobeh González and ACI director general, Angela Gittens, during a ceremony at ICAO headquarters in Montréal.
“ICAO and ACI have a long history of cooperation,” said González. “The memorandum that we are signing today provides a framework for enhanced cooperation between our two organizations and reflects ICAO’s continuing efforts to take a more action-oriented approach to promoting safety.”
The ACI’s Gittens said: “Today is a significant day for ACI and ICAO, and for all of us who rely on a safe and secure global air transportation system. The signing of the memorandum of cooperation signals the official start of a collaboration to grow ACI’s Airport Excellence in Safety Programme [APEX].
“Through APEX, we help airports around the world identify and remedy safety vulnerabilities by on-site peer reviews, information sharing, training, assistance with implementation of management structures and the technical assistance in applying the Standards and Recommended Practices of Annex 14. This collaboration with ICAO takes global airport safety to the next level. We applaud the leadership that ICAO has demonstrated for continuous improvement in the safety mission.”
