ICAO issues new guidance on COVID-19 aviation safety risks

ICAO has developed a new publication aimed at helping countries to address the aviation safety risks arising due to the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Produced specifically for national aviation regulators and civil aviation authorities (CAAs), the new Handbook for CAAs on the Management of Aviation Safety Risks related to COVID-19 (ICAO Doc 10144) was developed with the support of aviation experts serving on the ICAO Safety Management Panel. An ICAO State letter will be issued to encourage Member States to take advantage of this new handbook.

“COVID-19 has presented the entire world with many new types of challenges, and the need to adjust how we conduct ourselves in our day-to-day lives,” commented ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu.

“As a highly integrated and complex network, international aviation has not been immune to these effects, some of which pose new challenges in managing risks which were never before considered in traditional safety management practices.”

“ICAO, therefore, considered it essential to provide new guidance in this area as quickly as possible, so that the countries we support can continue to effectively coordinate, collaborate, and communicate to uphold the highest possible levels of aviation safety while they maintain the continuity of critical operations.”

The new ICAO handbook is available compliments of the Organization on the ICAO COVID-19 Safety Risk Management website, which will shortly contain additional links to practical information and tools which States are encouraged to stay actively updated on.

ICAO will be hosting a free ICAOTV interactive webinar to introduce the new handbook, on 14 May.