International Civil Aviation Organization

The recent (twentieth century) and future (twenty-first century) climate evolution in the Mediterranean region is analyzed in relation to annual mean global surface temperature change. The CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 5) simulations, the CRU (Climate Research Unit) observational gridded dataset, and two twentieth century reanalyzes (ECMWF, European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasts) and NOAA ESRL (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Earth System Research Laboratory) are used. These datasets to large extent agree that in the twentieth century: (a) Mediterranean regional and global temperatures have warmed at a similar rate until the 1980s and (b) decadal variability determines a large uncertainty that prevents to identify long-term links between precipitation in the Mediterranean region and global temperature. However, in the twenty-first century, as mean global temperature increases, in the Mediterranean region, precipitation will decrease at a rate around − 20 mm/K or − 4%/K and temperature will warm 20% more than the global average. Warming will be particularly large in summer (approximately 50% larger than global warming) and for the land areas located north of the basin (locally up to 100% larger than global warming). Reduction of precipitation will affect all seasons in the central and southern Mediterranean areas, with maximum reduction for winter precipitation (− 7 mm/K or − 7%/K for the southern Mediterranean region). For areas along the northern border of the Mediterranean region, reduction will be largest in summer (− 7 mm/K or − 9%/K for the whole northern Mediterranean region), while they will not experience a significant reduction of precipitation in winter.

The 27th session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), was held in Montreal from February 21 to March 16, 1956. The preparation of documentation for the Assembly and the Executive Committee occupied a considerable part of the time of the session. A final report on the investigation into the administrative organization and methods of the Secretariat which stated that it was being operated efficiently and economically was approved, as was a recommendation to keep the three year term of the Council and to hold a major session of the Assembly in 1959, with limited sessions in 1957 and 1958 if necessary. Budget estimates were prepared for the three years. Following debate, resolutions were adopted designed to simplify Council work, particularly by making use of standing committees. No recommendation was made, however, on a United Kingdom proposal for the Amendment of the Convention and on the relationship of ICAO with the European Civil Aviation Conference. A considerable number of technical questions came before the Council in reports from the Air Navigation Commission and the Pacific Regional Air Navigation Meeting, and in the air transport field.

The second part of the eleventh session of the Council of ICAO was convened in Montreal on September 27, 1950. The government of Spain dispatched a delegation to Montreal to take part in the meetings and arrange for that government's entry into the International Civil Aviation Organization. The agenda included: 1) appointment of members to serve on the Air Navigation Commission, Air Transport Committee, the Committee on Joint Support of Air Navigation Services, and the Finance Committee; 2) the proposals of the Secretary-General, Dr. Albert Roper, for reorganization of the secretariat and the question of his successor for 1951; 3) the site for a permanent office for the far east and the Pacific; 4) schedules for meetings of the subordinate bodies of the organization for 1952; and 5) a preliminary scale of contributions for 1952. The work of the Air Navigation Commission was surveyed in the report of the commission on 1) “differences” from ICAO standards, 2) sites for AIR, OPS and COM division meetings, and 3) necessary changes in abbreviations and symbols. Special attention was given to the formulation of ICAO's position on charges for airline operated agency messages carried over the aeronautical network and a study of this problem was to be undertaken in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union. The Council also was to discuss the communication to the Universal Postal Union on air mail charges upon which the member governments had made comments.

The 39th session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) extended from January 27 to April 14, 1960, during which time the Council considered several questions on air navigation, air transport, and technical assistance, as well as administrative and legal matters. In the field of air navigation, the two subjects that aroused the most interest were Amendment 35 to Annex 10 (Aeronautical Telecommunications), proposing new specifications for distance-measuring equipment, and the Secretariat's reports on investigations of major deficiencies in air navigation facilities and services on the main international air routes. After a debate in which the United States, the Netherlands, and the Federal Republic of Germany strongly supported the aforementioned amendment, with Australia, Canada, the Union of South Africa, and the United Kingdom opposing it, the following were adopted, to be approved or rejected by member states by September 1, 1960: 1) the new Standard making VOR (omnidirectional radio range) the standard aid for air traffic control and other operational purposes en route as well as in terminal areas; 2) the new Standard requiring the installation of DME (distancemeasuring equipment) as a complement to VOR where, for operational or air traffic control reasons, there was need for more precise navigation service than that provided by VOR; and 3) amendments relating to the “protection date” for VOR and DME. To determine whether joint financing might be a possible remedy for specific deficiencies in air navigation facilities and services, the Council established a working body to study the Secretariat's reports and present its findings to the June session of the Council.

The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization met in Montreal from May 22 to June 1, 1951 to consider items which needed to be completed before the opening of the fifth session of the ICAO Assembly on June 5, 1951. Annex 14 of the Convention Standards and Recommended Practices for Aerodromes as adopted differed in some respects from that submitted by the Air Navigation Division; the major change was the elimination of recommendations concerning the application and characteristics of the approach lighting system, Type B (high intensity). Unless a majority of the contracting states disapproved the Annex was to become effective on November 1, 1951 and to be implemented on June 1, 1952 in the case of airdromes used by international air services and on January 1, 1954 of other airdromes used by aircraft engaged in international air navigation. Sixteen amendments to Annex 3 of the Convention — Standards and Recommended Practices for Meteorological Codes — were adopted on the recommendation of the Meteorology Division. They were to become effective on October 1, 1951, and to be implemented on January 1, 1952. Action was also taken on the recommendations of the Committee on Performance of the Air and Operations Division. Report of the Air Navigation Division on its review of the implementation of regional plans in North America, South Pacific, South Atlantic, South American, and African-Indian Ocean Regions were approved. It was noted that in the first two regions there were no deficits in air navigation facilities and services which would seriously affect safety, efficiency or regularity of service.

The subject of carriage of dangerous goods by air is addressed in Annex 18 to the Chicago Convention. The material in this Annex was developed by the Air Navigation Commission in response to a need expressed by Contracting States for an internationally agreed set of provisions governing the safe transport of dangerous goods by air. In order to assist in achieving compatibility with the regulations covering the transport of dangerous goods by other modes of transport, the provisions of this Annex are based on the Recommendations of the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials of the International Atomic Energy Agency. More than half of the cargo carried by all modes of transport in the world is dangerous cargo—explosive, corrosive, flammable, toxic and even radioactive. These dangerous goods are essential for a wide variety of global industrial, commercial, medical and research requirements and processes. Because of the advantages of air transport, a great deal of this dangerous cargo is carried by aircraft.

The Annex 13 report of the investigation of flight PS752 accident released by Iran has been criticized by a number of states. It is alleged that the Iranian accident investigation authority failed to comply with the provisions of Annex 13 during investigation, and also failed to include important facts in the report. The procedure which was followed by Iran reiterates a challenge with Annex 13 reports which in some cases, have not been accepted by participating states and states with special interest in the investigation on the basis of the report being inaccurate. A problem posed by an inaccurate Annex 13 report is that such report is unlikely to offer genuine safety information to prevent future occurrences, and thus negates the intent of Article 26 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. This article, using Flight PS752 accident investigation as a reference, interrogates the validation of Annex 13 reports. The article concludes that the problem of inaccurate reporting and controversies surrounding Annex 13 reports can be addressed through a validation process where the reports will be reviewed. The article makes a case for validation of Annex 13 reports by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) through the Air Navigation Commission (ANC) to ensure its accuracy, and compliance of investigations with Annex 13.

As the issuance of type certificate and production certificate for KC-100 Naraon, Korea is ranked as the State of Design and the State of Manufacture for civil aircraft specified in the Convention on International Civil Aviation. It means that another responsibilities are imposed and new frameworks are required for the airworthiness management including the continuing airworthiness. So far the minimum airworthiness management system was sufficient as the State of Registry for the aircraft operations and safety management. However, we need to establish and maintain the airworthiness management system for the effective certification and oversight of our air operators and approval holders. This paper introduces the new obligations under the Convention on International Civil Aviation, reviews the current aviation regulations and procedures and presents the strategy for the establishment of the regulatory system to ensure the airworthiness of aircraft.

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Telecommunications is an area which would impact aviation in light of digital advances taking place. Annex 10 (Aeronautical Telecommunications) to the Chicago Convention is directly in point and ICAO’s relations with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in Annex 10 are developed in accordance with Article 37 of the Chicago Convention for the purpose of ensuring the safety and regularity of air navigation. In addition to the ITU Radio Regulations, the SARPs specify interface and performance standards for internationally agreed aeronautical systems which have been developed by aviation to meet the specific operational requirements of aeronautical services. ICAO is recognized internationally as the competent international body to carry out this work and to coordinate a worldwide policy for the operational use of the specified systems. Furthermore, the ICAO Annexes contain procedures for regular and emergency communications that are specifically developed for aviation purposes, taking account of the operational conditions. These procedures supplement the basic requirements for procedures in aeronautical communications of the Radio Regulations. ITU Radio Regulations and ICAO SARPs together thus form a complementary set of regulatory provisions without any overlap. The ITU Radio Regulations must evolve within the general telecommunications environment, with its many and diverse users of the radio frequency spectrum, while the ICAO SARPs respond to the operational safety aspects of air navigation and are developed and agreed by aviation within the ICAO organizational framework.

The Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx; http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr) is a collaborative research program federating international activities to investigate Mediterranean regional chemistry-climate interactions. A special observing period (SOP-1a) including intensive airborne measurements was performed in the framework of the Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing on the Mediterranean Climate (ADRIMED) project during the Mediterranean dry season over the western and central Mediterranean basins, with a focus on aerosol-radiation measurements and their modeling. The SOP-1a took place from 11 June to 5 July 2013. Airborne measurements were made by both the ATR-42 and F-20 French research aircraft operated from Sardinia (Italy) and instrumented for in situ and remote-sensing measurements, respectively, and by sounding and drifting balloons, launched in Minorca. The experimental set-up also involved several ground-based measurement sites on islands including two ground-based reference stations in Corsica and Lampedusa and secondary monitoring sites in Minorca and Sicily. Additional measurements including lidar profiling were also performed on alert during aircraft operations at EARLINET/ACTRIS stations at Granada and Barcelona in Spain, and in southern Italy. Remote sensing aerosol products from satellites (MSG/SEVIRI, MODIS) and from the AERONET/PHOTONS network were also used. Dedicated meso-scale and regional modelling experiments were performed in relation to this observational effort. We provide here an overview of the different surface and aircraft observations deployed during the ChArMEx/ADRIMED period and of associated modeling studies together with an analysis of the synoptic conditions that determined the aerosol emission and transport. Meteorological conditions observed during this campaign (moderate temperatures and southern flows) were not favorable to produce high level of atmospheric pollutants nor intense biomass burning events in the region. However, numerous mineral dust plumes were observed during the campaign with main sources located in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, leading to aerosol optical depth (AOD) values ranging between 0.2 to 0.6 (at 440 nm) over the western and central Mediterranean basins. Associated aerosol extinction values measured on-board the ATR-42 within the dust plume show local maxima reaching up to 150 Mm−1. Non negligible aerosol extinction (about 50 Mm−1) was also been observed within the Marine Boundary Layer (MBL). By combining ATR-42 extinction, absorption and scattering measurements, a complete optical closure has been made revealing excellent agreement with estimated optical properties. Associated calculations of the dust single scattering albedo (SSA) have been conducted, which show a moderate variability (from 0.90 to 1.00 at 530 nm). In parallel, active remote-sensing observations from the surface and onboard the F-20 aircraft suggest a complex vertical structure of particles and distinct aerosol layers with sea-salt and pollution located within the MBL, and mineral dust and/or aged north American smoke particles located above (up to 6–7 km in altitude). Aircraft and balloon-borne observations show particle size distributions characterized by large aerosols (> 10 μm in diameter) within dust plumes. In terms of shortwave (SW) direct forcing, in-situ surface and aircraft observations have been merged and used as inputs in 1-D radiative transfer codes for calculating the direct radiative forcing (DRF). Results show significant surface SW instantaneous forcing (up to −90 W m−2 at noon). Associated 3-D modeling studies from regional climate (RCM) and chemistry transport (CTM) models indicate a relatively good agreement for simulated AOD compared with measurements/observations from the AERONET/PHOTONS network and satellite data, especially for long-range dust transport. Calculations of the 3-D SW (clear-sky) surface DRF indicate an average of about −10 to −20 W m−2 (for the whole period) over the Mediterranean Sea together with maxima (−50 W m−2) over northern Africa. The top of the atmosphere (TOA) DRF is shown to be highly variable within the domain, due to moderate absorbing properties of dust and changes in the surface albedo. Indeed, 3-D simulations indicate negative forcing over the Mediterranean Sea and Europe and positive forcing over northern Africa.

Many civilian applications of commercial unmanned aircraft are being planned to operate in the years ahead. Several countries have developed their own framework to design the operation of unmanned aircraft and the different services that demand safe operation. This paper focuses on the European framework denoted as U-space which concludes with the joint integration of manned and unmanned aircraft in the airspace. U-space is a set of novel services and specific procedures designed to provide safe and efficient access into the airspace to the airspace users. U-space constitutes a management system to organise unmanned operations and provides relevant information to drone operators as well as manned aircraft, air navigation service providers and authorities. The understanding of associated hazards and risks to unmanned aircraft is a critical issue for their operation in complex and non-segregated airspaces. The safety assessment developed herein is crucial to identify safety indicators for U-space. In addition, the identification of safety indicators was used to identify gaps in U-spaces services that are not correctly covered by the U-space framework. Particularly, several safety indicators are identified that currently U-space services do not consider and can imply an increase in the operational risk of unmanned operations.

The first full-length session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization since the seventh session of the Assembly opened in Montreal on October 7, 1953. Members and chairmen of the Council's subsidiary organs were appointed by the Council upon the nomination of ICAO members: Walter Binaghi (Argentina) was reappointed chairman of the Air Navigation Commission; Enrique Loaeza (Mexico) was appointed chairman of the Air Transport Committee; and Joaquim de Brito Subtil (Portugal) chairman of the Committee on Joint Support of Air Navigation Services.

A cost-efficiency analysis of European air navigation service providers