Airports Council International (ACI) World Annual General Assembly (WAGA) held in Hong Kong, China unanimously expressed its position on increased engagement with ICAO on policy development, capacity building and environmental protection.
As ICAO plans for its 40th Triennial Assembly, to be held from 24 September to 4 October this year, the ACI Assembly confirmed the importance of ACI alignment with the objectives of ICAO to further a safe, secure, and sustainable air transportation system. The Resolution recognizes the value of working directly with regulators and policy makers to influence decisions at the ICAO level. Furthermore, the Resolution affirms ACI’s position as the voice of airports on the global stage.
In a practical sense, the Resolution also encourages greater commitment from ICAO to ACI in the development of joint ventures such as in training, events, APEX, and the collection and use of data. It paves the way to further developing relations between ICAO’s Technical Cooperation Bureau and the World Business Partners in terms of capacity building.
In terms of environmental protection, the Assembly noted the need for the highest possible standards for all aviation partners and called on ACI to take a leadership role in encouraging ICAO to develop long term goals for greenhouse gas reductions consistent with the Paris Agreement.
“At the end of the day collaboration is key,” said ACI Director General Angela Gittens, “if our industry is to successfully surmount challenges as we seek to accommodate increasing air service demand, we must continue to work together.” She added, “ACI is cognizant of this and the Resolution seeks to safeguard years of fruitful collaboration and to develop new joint ventures such as in APEX, training, events, and the collection and use of data. This Resolution also identifies target areas for advocacy, including: safety, security, efficiency, and environmental protection, in particular, the need for aviation to develop more ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”
The 29th ACI Asia-Pacific/World Annual General Assembly, Congress & Exhibition held in Hong Kong, China, 2 to 4 April, hosted by Hong Kong International Airport, attracted more than 850 delegates from around the world.