By Giwa SHILE
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) says aviation is key to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and presents a new and tremendous opportunity for global development in the coming decades.
Its Council President, Dr Benard Aliu and Secretary General, Dr Fang Liu, said on Thursday in Lagos in commemoration of the 2018 International Civil Aviation Day (ICAD).
Dec. 7 each year is recognised globally as ICAD to celebrate the contributions of civil aviation to world peace and prosperity.
Theme for the 2018 ICAD is:
”Working Together to Ensure No Country is Left Behind.”
ICAO said the theme was established on a recurring basis for the 2016-2018 ICAO triennium to highlight the enormous transformational power of air connectivity to improve people’s lives.
The organisation said it also reflects the key role of cooperation and assistance to help spread the aviation’s benefits to every corner of the world.
The apex civil aviation body noted that no fewer than 4.1 billion passengers and 56 million tonnes of freight were carried on 37 million commercial flights in 2017.
According to ICAO, in light of this massive volume of operations, aviation generates over 65 million jobs worldwide and more than 2.7 trillion dollars to global Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
It said despite the incredible scale of these economic impacts, the growth in commercial flight volumes show no signs of slowing.
ICAO said indeed, current forecasts see the numbers of passengers and operations in global air transport doubling by the mid-2030s.
It added that by that time, no fewer than 200,000 flights per day were expected to take off and land all over the world.
”This tremendous exponential growth, coupled with the distinct contributions of aviation connectivity to states’ achievement of 15 of the 17 UN SDGs, presents a new and tremendous opportunity for global development in the coming decades.
”But, in order to take advantage of this growth, and optimise it for their local businesses and populations, governments must commit to raising their levels of ICAO compliance to be in line with global norms.
”They must also continue to support the principles of open borders and freer trade, so that air transport can continue to connect us all and foster new understanding among the peoples of the world, and new opportunities for travel and trade,” the organisation said.
ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations and was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world.
It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities.
The organisation serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 192 member states.
