EAEU COUNTRIES STRENGTHEN COOPERATION IN AVIATION SECURITY
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Representatives of the EAEU countries proposed creating regular consultations and advisory body on aviation security within the Eurasian Economic Commission.
This initiative was announced at the aviation security conference, which was first held at the EEC on November 19 within the framework of Transport Week - 2021 in Russia. If it is implemented, it could have a positive effect on improving the quality of air transportation and ensuring aviation security.
“International air traffic in the EAEU should be as safe as possible, and the EEC is extremely interested in this. Therefore, the Commission initiated a discussion of the topic within the framework of a specialized conference, gathering for the first time”, explained Elena Sheresheva, Deputy Director of the Department of Transport and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
“The rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concerning aviation security are the same for all countries. Russia is actively working in this direction”, said Viktor Basargin, head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport.
The EAEU is a huge territory, and the airspace above it is involved in almost all traffic from Europe and America to the Asia-Pacific region, noted the event moderator Vladimir Chertok, advisor to the head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (National Aviation Security Coordinator in cooperation with ICAO).
According to Elkhan Nakhmedov, Deputy Regional Director of the ICAO Bureau for the European and North Atlantic Regions, maintaining a systematic dialogue is especially important in an era of uncertainty and new risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In their speeches, representatives of the authorized bodies of the Member States shared their experience of passing the latest ICAO audits, informed about results, problem points, and recommendations.
On behalf of the Transport Strategy Center (TSC), General Director Anton Koren shared his vision of approaches to the development of monitoring and supervising systems confirming with transport and aviation security standards and expressed the opinion that the basis of any regulation, at the stage the rule-making should first of all take into account the issues of economic development of the industrial enterprise. The system of control and supervision should be adjusted and consider the priorities of the economic development of airlines and airports. The head of the TSC gave practical examples in terms of the development of infrastructure for regional and local air transportation and how it is possible to ensure an adequate level of transport security, providing favorable conditions for the development of enterprises.
Within the framework of the conference, a round table session was held on the topic of practical training (OJT) in the field of aviation security by state inspectors, as well as consultations on flight safety, within the framework of which issues for discussion at a future conference were identified.
In the final resolution, the conference participants considered it expedient to exchange information on the preparation and conducting of ICAO audits in the field of aviation security, coordinate the activities of national aviation security services on the implementation of the ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan, as well as hold conferences on aviation security and flight safety regularly.
Reference
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a UN specialized agency that sets international standards for civil aviation and coordinates its development to improve safety and efficiency. Its headquarters are located in Montreal (Canada). The organization brings together 193 countries of the world that have signed the Chicago Convention and supports cooperation between them in the field of air transport.
The main task is to provide administrative and expert support (ICAO secretariat) to such diplomatic interaction and to develop new guidelines, standards, and recommended practices in the field of air transport, approved by the ICAO Assembly or elected ICAO Council.
Source: materials of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Transport Strategy Center (TSC).