ANAC participates in ICAO conference on safe and efficient resumption of international air transport

On the first days (October 12 and 13) of the High Level Conference on Covid-19 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), plenary sessions were held at the ministerial level with the participation of ICAO Member States and the industry to discuss the safe and efficient resumption of international air transport in the context of the pandemic. During the event, in a fully online format, the Brazilian delegation was led by the Director-President of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).

The Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcísio Freitas, who as also part of the delegation, made the opening speech of the Ministerial Plenary and emphasized the need for cooperation and collaboration among the States for the reopening of borders and the safe resumption of international aviation.

At the occasion, ANAC’s Director-President, Juliano Noman, highlighted the need for modernization of the States’ regulatory frameworks, aligned with the best international practices recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and based on a collaborative and responsive perspective. Juliano also emphasized the importance of the adoption, at the end of the Conference, of the Ministerial Declaration as a fundamental commitment of the States to respond in a meaningful way to the global imperative of safely restoring international air mobility.

Also during the plenary sessions, Agency Director Rogério Benevides was elected by the Conference as Vice-Chair of the Facilitation stream forum and, in this position, will lead the discussions together with the Director-General of the South African Civil Aviation Authority, Mrs. Poppy Khosa. 

Technical Discussions

The technical discussions of the Conference, which was divided into two technical “streams” – one on safety and the other on facilitation –, began on October 13th and continued until October 21st.

The safety stream discussed topics such as operational safety measures adopted by states in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, implementation of the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP), and national and regional plans, among other issues. In total, 107 working papers were presented by states and industry representatives on these topics. ANAC, on behalf of Brazil, presented four. Among them, the Agency's experience in implementing the Digital CHT and the use of unmanned aircraft for medical services.

In the stream facilitation, the topics covered comprised the inclusion of material related to health issues; strengthening of national and international cooperation with health authorities and the World Health Organization, adoption of digital solutions for collecting and sharing passenger data, among others. ANAC, together with the Ministry of Infrastructure, presented for discussion the Brazilian vaccination certificate for Covid-19 and the Conecte SUS system, with a view to supporting negotiations for mutual recognition of passenger acceptance rules between the countries.

Brazilian Delegation

The Brazilian Delegation was headed by the Director-President of ANAC, and was composed of representatives from ANAC, Department of Airspace Control (Decea), Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa), Secretary of Civil Aviation (SAC), Ministry of Infrastructure and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE).

All the information about the Conference can be seen at: https://www.icao.int/Meetings/HLCC2021/Pages/default.aspx

ANAC Communications Office