icao · 2011-10-26 · visit icao’s website for a wealth of information including past issues of...

V O L U M E 6 2 NUMBER 1 , 2007

ICAOJ O U R N A L

PROMOTING BESTPRACTICES

RUNWAYSAFETY

Invasive Alien SpeciesMITIGATING CIVIL AVIATION’S ROLE

Statistical DatabasesNOT ALL CODES ARE CREATED EQUAL

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39154.P2 2/15/07 7:17 AM

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007VOL. 62, NO. 1

ICAO JournalThe magazine of the International Civil Aviation Organization

FEATURES

9 Action plan promotes best practices for preventing runway incursionsEuropean States are implementing an action-oriented plan that addresses runwaysafety concerns by disseminating best practices while placing new emphasis onharnessing technology and understanding human factors …

11 Serious incident at Manchester Airport puts focus on runway safetyNon-adherence to established procedures by the flight crew, as well as by theairport operator and ATS provider in terms of planning and managing runwaymaintenance, lie behind an incident involving vehicles on the active runway …

14 Integrated information system facilities decision makingBy incorporating data on aviation activities from various sources into a singleinformation system, as Colombia has recently done, decision makers benefit fromhaving sufficient and timely information readily at hand …

17 Statisticians should be wary of using operational codes in databasesWhen existing operational codes are adapted for aviation statistics databases,problems arise. That is why ICAO’s new integrated statistical databaseautomatically augments any operational codes submitted by States with uniqueand permanent codes for unmistakeable record identification …

19 Variance analysis can help airlines improve their competitive edgeA comparative process known as variance analysis is valuable in understandingwhy an airline’s actual and projected revenues and costs are different, therebyhighlighting ways to improve the bottom line …

22 Air transport remains a major pathway for invasive alien speciesAlthough many governments recognize the seriousness of the situation, there isstill little international guidance available for assisting States in developingeffective national policies and measures to combat the problem of invasivealien species …

24 Security is strengthened at most important airport in RussiaFollowing the destruction of two airliners in 2004 by suicide bombers whoenplaned at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, a major enhancement of securityhas been undertaken at the airport, which now has the most modernequipment and employs the most advanced security procedures …

UPDATE26 ICAO presented with final part of the Safety Roadmap

• New approach recommended for enhancing safety in Africa• First priority must remain safety, Council President stresses• Scheduled airline traffic up by 5 percent in 2006• Tabletop exercise highlights issues related to bioterrorism threat• Revised Global Plan helps assure ATM harmonization• PANS-OPS amendments receive approval• Aviation language symposium to be held in May 2007

WWW.ICAO.INT

THE ICAOCOUNCIL

PresidentROBERTO KOBEH GONZÁLEZ

1st Vice-PresidentI. M. LYSENKO

2nd Vice-PresidentDr. A. SIPOS

3rd Vice-PresidentJ. E. ORTIZ CUENCA

SecretaryDr. TAÏEB CHÉRIFSecretary General

Argentina – D. O. Valente

Australia – S. Clegg

Austria – S. Gehrer

Brazil – V. Elyseu Filho

Cameroon – T. Tekou

Canada – L. A. Dupuis

Chile – G. Miranda Aguirre

China – T. Ma

Colombia – J. E. Ortiz Cuenca

Egypt – S. Elazab

Ethiopia – T. Mekonnen

Finland – L. Lövkvist

France – J.-C. Chouvet

Germany – Dr. K. Kammann-Klippstein

Ghana – K. Kwakwa

Honduras – A. Suazo Morazán

Hungary – Dr. A. Sipos

India – Dr. N. Zaidi

Italy – S. Monti

Japan – A. Araki

Lebanon – H. Chaouk

Mexico –

Mozambique – D. de Deus

Nigeria – Dr. O. B. Aliu

Pakistan – M. Rauhullah

Peru – J. Muñoz-Deacon

Republic of Korea – G. Shin

Russian Federation – I. M. Lysenko

Saint Lucia – H. A. Wilson

Saudi Arabia – S. A. R. Hashem

Singapore – K. P. Bong

South Africa – M. D. T. Peege

Spain – L. Adrover

Tunisia – M. Chérif

United Kingdom – M. Rossell

United States – D. T. BlissCover photo by Steve Craft/Masterfile

39154.P3 2/15/07 7:17 AM

ICAO JOURNAL4

Editor: Eric MacBurnie Production Clerk: Arlene BarnesEditorial Assistant: Regina Zorman Design Consultant: François-B. Tremblay

THE OBJECTIVES of the Journal are to provide a concise account of theactivities of the International Civil Aviation Organization and to featureadditional information of interest to ICAO Contracting States and the inter-national aeronautical world. Copyright ©2007 International Civil AviationOrganization. Unsigned and Secretariat material may be reproduced in fullor in part provided that it is attributed to ICAO; for rights to reproduceother signed articles, please write to the editor.

OPINIONS EXPRESSED in signed articles or in advertisements appearing inthe ICAO Journal represent the author’s or advertiser’s opinion and do notnecessarily reflect the views of ICAO. The mention of specific companies orproducts in articles or advertisements does not imply that they are endorsedor recommended by ICAO in preference to others of a similar nature whichare not mentioned or advertised.

Published in Montreal, Canada. Second class mail registration No. 1610. ISSN1014-8876. Date of publication of Issue 1/2007: 16 February 2007. Publishedsix times annually in English, French and Spanish.

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www.icao.int VISIT ICAO’s website for a wealth of information includingpast issues of the ICAO Journal, information on advertising in ICAO’s maga-zine, the latest news releases, a complete listing of ICAO publications andaudio visual training aids, the ICAO aviation training directory, Secretariat jobvacancies, technical cooperation project postings, and much more.

ICAO PUBLICATIONS: The Catalogue of ICAO Publications and Audio-VisualTraining Aids contains a list of all document titles as well as abstracts andindicates the availability of language versions. The catalogue is issued annu-ally in hard copy. Monthly supplements list new publications and audio-visual training aids as they become available, as well as amendments andsupplements. Most ICAO publications are issued in English, French,Russian and Spanish; Arabic and Chinese are being introduced on a gradualbasis. (The most efficient way to order an ICAO publication is online athttp://www.icao.int using VISA or Mastercard. All transactions conducted onthis server are encrypted and secure.)

ICAO ESHOP (www.icao.int/eshop): eSHOP is a commercial website offeringonline access to ICAO documentation for an annual fee. A subscription givesaccess to the full texts of international conventions and protocols, all annexesto the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention),publications pertaining to air traffic management, and the annual reports ofthe ICAO Council.

DGCA DIRECTORY: ICAO has developed an electronic database of informationon national civil aviation administrations from around the world. The Directoryof National Civil Aviation Administrations (Document 7604) is continuouslyupdated, based on information received from ICAO’s 189 Contracting States.The online directory is available through ICAO’s website at an annual subscrip-tion fee of U.S. $150. For further information, please contact the DatabaseAdministrator ([email protected]).

ICAO Journal

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and

HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African

RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d’IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDemocratic People’s

Republic of KoreaDemocratic Republic

of the Congo

DenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran (Islamic

Republic of)IraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s

Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab

Jamahiriya

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(Federated States of)MonacoMongoliaMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRepublic of KoreaRepublic of MoldovaRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and

the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi Arabia

SenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTajikistanThailandThe former Yugoslav

Republic of Macedonia

Timor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited Republic

of TanzaniaUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaViet NamYemenZambiaZimbabwe

ICAO Headquarters

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Promoting the Development of International Civil AviationThe International Civil AviationOrganization, created in 1944 to promotethe safe and orderly development of civilaviation worldwide, is a specialized agency ofthe United Nations. Headquartered in Montreal,ICAO develops international air transport standardsand regulations and serves as the medium for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 189 Contracting States.

ICAO CONTRACTING STATES

39154.P4 2/15/07 7:17 AM

5NUMBER 1, 2007

BEGINNING WITH THIS ISSUE, statistics reflecting develop-ments and trends in the air transport sector, including safety, willbe highlighted in ICAO Journal on a regular basis. The figuresthat appear in this new department are submitted by ICAO’smember States and are entered into ICAO’s integrated statisticaldatabase (ISDB) for use in various analyses where, if necessary,they are supplemented with data from other sources.

Interestingly, ICAO has been collecting aviation statistics fromits member States since the late 1940s. The earliest data availablein electronic form (air carrier traffic) covers the year 1968. Atpresent, the ICAO aviation statistics programme covers 10 dataseries, including commercial air carrier traffic, flight origin anddestination, commercial air carrier financial data, and civil aircrafton register. Specific data are available online for a fee, whileContracting States have access to the information at no charge.For more information on obtaining ICAO data, contact theEconomic Analyses and Databases Section via e-mail([email protected]) or by telephone (+1-514-954-8219, ext. 8398).

In this issue, tables and figures illustrate the growth of the airtransport industry since 1997, and more recently, compare pre-liminary 2006 scheduled traffic results with those of 2005. Thedetailed year-on-year comparison (Table 1) shows worldwide traf-fic results in terms of the volume of passengers carried as well asthe passenger-kilometres (PKM) flown, available seat-kilometres(ASKM), revenue tonne-kilometres (RTKM), freight tonne-kilo-metres (FTKM) and available tonne-kilometres (ATKM). Table 2highlights changes in traffic volumes in three specific regions:Asia/Pacific, Europe and North America.

Figure 1 illustrates the growth in the number of passengers car-ried over a 10-year period, to a total of some 2.1 billion passengersin 2006. Also depicted are the international and domestic compo-nents. Similarly, Figure 2 shows the growth in freight tonnestransported during the same period, with a record 38.9 milliontonnes transported last year. For more information on 2006scheduled traffic results, see ICAO Update (page 29).

Figure 3 illustrates revenue tonne-kilometres, and availabletonne-kilometres over a 10-year period (a tonne-kilometre is acombined measure of passengers, freight and mail traffic thattakes into account the distance flown).

Also featured is a 10-year comparison of worldwide passengerand cargo load factors (Figure 4). The passenger load factor hasgrown significantly, from 69 percent in 1997 to 76 percent in 2006,its highest level in the past decade. The trend is explained by acombination of traffic stimulation by the low-cost carriers and bet-ter capacity management by airlines generally.

As Figure 5 illustrates, the spread between the overall load fac-tor and the break-even point has progressively narrowed over thepast decade, with the break-even point exceeding the overall loadfactor in 2001 and 2002, resulting in operating losses. The trendwas reversed around 2004, and it is anticipated that the world’sscheduled airlines will continue to post an operating profit for thenear future.

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

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Figure 1. Passengers carried on scheduled air services, 1997-2006

Figure 2. Freight tonnes carried by the world’s scheduled airlines, 1997-2006

Table 1. Worldwide scheduled airline traffic, 2006 versus 2005 (2006 figures preliminary)

Table 2. Scheduled airline traffic and capacity by region, percentage change vs2005 (based on preliminary 2006 figures, ICAO statistical regions)

Air carrier traffic North America Europe Asia/PacificIntl. Dom. Total Intl. Dom. Total Intl. Dom. Total

Passenger-km 8.5 2.1 4.0 6.0 0.9 5.3 4.3 9.0 6.0

Available seat-km 6.2 -1.9 0.4 4.9 -1.1 4.0 2.4 7.8 4.4

Revenue tonne-km 6.5 2.3 3.8 3.8 -0.3 3.4 5.1 9.7 6.2

Freight tonne-km 3.5 4.4 3.9 1.9 -3.8 1.8 2.4 12.4 3.4

Available tonne-km 4.3 -0.9 0.9 3.4 -1.1 2.9 2.8 8.3 4.3

Air carrier traffic International Domestic Total2006 2005 %Var 2006 2005 %Var 2006 2005 %Var

Passengers (millions) 752 705 6.7 1 353 1 317 2.7 2 105 2 022 4.1

Passenger-km (billions) 2 335 2 198 6.2 1 579 1 522 3.7 3 914 3 720 5.2

Available seat-km (billions) 3 072 2 932 4.8 2 061 2 041 1.0 5 133 4 973 3.2

Revenue tonne-km (billions) 341.9 325.3 5.1 168.6 162.4 3.8 510.5 487.7 4.7

Freight tonne-km (billions) 122.1 118.5 3.0 25.4 24.1 5.4 147.5 142.6 3.4

Available tonne-km (millions) 527.6 506.9 4.1 277.5 273.4 1.5 805.1 780.3 3.2

WORLDWIDE FREIGHT TONNES

DOMESTIC FREIGHT TONNES

INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT TONNES

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

39154.P5 2/15/07 7:17 AM

ICAO JOURNAL6

Figure 3. Scheduled airline revenue tonne-km and available tonne-km, 1997-2006

Figure 4. Growth in scheduled airline passenger and cargo load factors, 1997-2006

Figure 5. Spread between scheduled airline overall load factor and operating break-even load factor, 1997-2006

Figure 6. Fatal accidents per 10 million departures, scheduled passenger services

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

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1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

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TREND

ACTUAL RATE

Figure 6 reveals the fatal accident rate since 1990, including pre-liminary 2006 data. (ICAO safety data reflect only accidents thatinvolve passenger fatalities on scheduled commercial services byaircraft having a certificated maximum take-off mass of 2,250 kilo-grams or more.) The trend is generally downward, with the ratefor 2007 expected to be significantly lower than that experiencedin 2005.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

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39154.P6 2/15/07 7:18 AM

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39154.P7 2/15/07 7:18 AM

39154.P8 2/16/07 9:16 AM

HE ISSUE of runway incursionshas been identified as a seriousthreat to aviation safety that

European States, among others, are work-ing hard to resolve. Recent initiatives toenhance runway safety include the imple-mentation of the European Action Plan forthe Prevention of Runway Incursions, whichcontains a number of recommendationsdesigned to reduce runway accidents andincidents and improvesafety. First distributed in2003, the plan — the resultof the combined efforts oforganizations represent-ing all areas of aerodromeoperations — is updatedperiodically and remainsin effect.

As the action plan pointsout, runway safety is a vitalcomponent of aviation safe-ty as a whole. Moreover,runway safety calls for acontinuous effort becausegrowth in air traffic is like-ly to lead to more incidentsunless this can be held incheck by preventive actions.

Efforts to tackle the problem of run-way incursions have been facilitated inrecent years by the adoption of a stan-dard definition for a runway incursion. Asdefined by ICAO, a runway incursion is“any occurrence at an aerodrome involv-ing the incorrect presence of an aircraft,vehicle or person on the protected area ofa surface designated for the landing and

RUNWAY SAFETY

European action plan promotes bestpractices for preventing runway incursions

Based on insight into why runway incursions occur, European States are implementing an action-oriented plan that addresses safety concerns by disseminating best practices while placing new emphasis on harnessing technology and understanding human factors

PAUL WILSON

EUROCONTROL

take-off of aircraft.”The ICAO definition, applicable to all

data collection and analysis sinceNovember 2004, made it practical forEurocontrol to collect and share data on aglobal basis, and subsequently analyseand understand why these incidents aretaking place.

As shown by incident data analysed byEurocontrol, circumstances surrounding arunway incursion differ considerably, butare frequently caused by a complex mix-ture of contributing factors. Of the mostcommon contributory and causal factors,

those relating to communications form thebiggest group. Non-ICAO phraseology,overlong and complex instructions, ambi-guity and failure to provide or check read-backs, were frequently noted in incidentreports that led to confusion and resultedin a runway incursion.

One very surprising result from thedata analysis concerns those incidentswhere pilots or vehicle drivers inadver-

tently stray onto a runway. Prior to thesurvey, it had been assumed that pilots orvehicle drivers inadvertently entered arunway because they had lost awarenessof where they were. However, the analy-sis showed that the prime contributingfactor was, in fact, a breakdown in com-munication between Air Traffic Control(ATC) and the pilot or vehicle driver.Simply explained, the pilot or vehicledriver entered the runway believing thata valid ATC clearance had been receivedin well over 50 percent of the cases.

Improving communications is there-fore a matter of priority,but difficult to accom-plish. It is not simply acase of issuing an instruc-tion telling people to com-municate more efficient-ly. Aerodrome operationsare conducted in dynam-ic and volatile environ-ments. There are times ofvery high workload, withmultiple crossed trans-missions, and indistinctor clipped messages asair traffic controllers con-stantly scan the manoeu-vring area and plan theirnext four or five actions.

Action plan vs manual. The Europeanaction plan cited above was developed bya still active group of experts known asthe European Working Group for thePrevention of Runway Incursions.Formed in 2002, the dynamic group ismade up of representatives of all organi-zations involved in runway operations.Working as a team, it operates on thepremise that no single group — whether

T

NUMBER 1, 2007 9

The circumstances surrounding a runway incursion differ considerably, butof the most common contributory factors, flawed communications is themost prevalent

Jim

Jorg

enso

n

39154.P9 2/15/07 7:19 AM

ATC, aerodrome operators or aircrew —can solve this very complex problem inisolation. The group members are opera-tional personnel who understand the day-to-day problems experienced on the job.

The working group has adopted a no-blame culture: if highly professional andvery proficient people have done somethingthat has resulted in a runway incursion,

then some fault in the system has led to thehuman mistake. It is these systemic faultsthat need to be identified and addressed.

At the outset, the group decided to pro-duce an action plan with specific tasks anddeadlines in preference to a manual, whichtends to be placed on shelves with othermanuals. The action plan, containing over50 recommendations that recognize thatairports vary from small regional opera-tions to large multi-runway hubs, may beviewed at Eurocontrol’s website (www.eurocontrol.int/runwaysafety/public/standard_page/EuropeanAction.html).

RUNWAY SAFETY

A number of principles underpin theaction plan’s 56 recommendations, whichare directed at aerodrome operators, airnavigation service providers, aircraftoperators and regulators, among others.The underlying principles are:• Existing ICAO provisions are ade-quate for all tasks associated with run-way operations.

• Aviation is a globalindustry and varia-tions in practice have,and will continue tocause, significant prob-lems as aircraft flyfrom one region toanother.• Aircrew require theconsistency and pre-dictability that the har-monized application ofICAO provisions canprovide.• At the aerodromelevel, runway safetycan only truly beenhanced by local jointaction because localdifferences in the lay-out of the infrastruc-ture and the mixture oftraffic, etc., must betaken into account.

Learning from expe-rience. In the processof disseminating theaction plan, good prac-tices were identifiedand have been incor-

porated. Among these, one good practice isthe decision by some airport operators toconfirm in writing that all airline users haveimplemented the relevant recommenda-tions in the action plan. Another desirablepractice is to obtain pilot input on local run-way safety teams; this is usually availablefrom the International Federation of AirLine Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) aero-drome liaison representative.

Some air navigation service providersare making considerable effort toenhance the standard of ATC-pilot-vehi-cle driver communication. These include

regular analysis of radiotelephony record-ings to ensure that all participants areusing the correct phraseology and proce-dures. In addition, some airport operatorsare providing comprehensive radiotele-phony training to vehicle drivers.

Another good practice adopted in someStates is to have a policy preventing aircraftfrom crossing illuminated red stop bars.

In addition to outlining best practicesfor operating personnel, the action planprovides guidelines for local runway safe-ty teams and furnishes details aboutinspection and audit guidelines, safetymanagement systems and aeronauticalinformation management.

Role of technology. In addition to numer-ous recommendations for systemicimprovement, technology can be har-nessed to reduce the risk of runway colli-sions. Current efforts are focused on twomain areas, specifically devices that pro-vide positional awareness to pilots, andsystems that provide air traffic controllerswith a warning whenever a runway incur-sion is under way.

Current positional awareness technolo-gies that an aircrew can use to monitortheir precise location on the surface of anaerodrome help with navigation. Evenwhen a pilot is absolutely certain of his orher location, however, a runway incursionmay still take place because of a misunder-standing between ATC and the pilot.

Runway incursion alerting technolo-gies have already been instrumental inavoiding a number of serious incidents.The drawback to this technology, howev-er, is the very limited time available forthe alerting process.

A taxiing aircraft can cross the runwayholding point marking and reach the run-way in a matter of a few seconds. Duringthat brief interval, the incident can be

10 ICAO JOURNAL

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Paul Wilson is Head of Airport Activities at the EuropeanOrganisation for the Safety of Air Navigation(Eurocontrol), which develops, coordinates and planspan-European air traffic management strategies onbehalf of its 37 member States (www.eurocontrol.int).Mr. Wilson is also the Chairman of the EuropeanWorking Group for the Prevention of Runway Incursions.

This text is an adaptation of an article that originallyappeared in SAA Review, the biannual newsletter of theSingapore Aviation Academy, a division of the CivilAviation Authority of Singapore.

continued on page 33

Figure 1. Number of runway incursions within Eurocontrol sta-tistical reference area (occurrence per million aircraft move-ments; severity of occurrence)

Figure 2. Runway incursion trend (occurrence per million aircraftmovements; severity of occurrence: A or B)

39154.P10 2/15/07 7:19 AM

OLLOWING its investigation of aserious incident at ManchesterAirport on 16 July 2003 involving a

Boeing 737-86N operated by ExcelAirways, the U.K. Air Accidents Inves-tigation Branch (AAIB) has published a for-mal report (No. 3/2006) that includes sev-eral safety recommendations related torunway safety.

The B737 (registration G-XLAG), withseven crew members and 190 passengerson board, was undertaking a flight fromManchester Airport to Kos, Greece.Runway 06L was in use, but the pilots werenot aware that 06L was being operated at areduced length because of work inprogress to remove rubber deposits at thefar end of the runway. The pilots could notsee the maintenance vehicles from nearthe 06L threshold, as the runway is builtover a slight rise in the ground.

Due to a difference in interpretation ofinformation passed between Air TrafficControl (ATC) and the flight crew, the air-craft entered the runway from holdingpoint AG (see accompanying chart) ratherthan the expected holding point A [at the06L threshold end], and the take-off was

INCIDENT REPORT

Incident at Manchester Airportputs focus on runway safety

Non-adherence to established procedures by the flight crew, as well as by the airport operator and ATS provider in terms of planning and managing runway maintenance, lie behind a seriousincident involving vehicles at work on the active runway

AIR ACCIDENTS INVESTIGATION BRANCH

(UNITED KINGDOM)

conducted using a reduced thrust settingcalculated for the assumed normal runwaylength. As the aircraft passed the crest ofthe runway, the flight crew became awareof vehicles at its far end but,as they were now close totheir rotation speed, theycontinued and carried out anormal take-off. The aircraftpassed within 56 feet of a 14-foot high vehicle performingremoval of rubber depositson the runway (see photo).

The AAIB was notified ofthis serious incident on 23 July2003, seven days after it hadoccurred. The subsequentinvestigation revealed furtherincidents had occurred duringthe course of the work, themost significant being on the night of 15 July2003. On this occasion, ATC had instructedthree commercial passenger aircraft to go-around after they had knowingly positionedthem to land on the reduced length runway.The crews of all three aircraft were unawareof the reduced length available and, wheninformed, stated that it was insufficient forthem to be able to land. The closest of theaircraft, a Lockheed Tristar, was at a rangeof 2.5 nautical miles (NM) when instructedto go-around.

The actions of Manchester Airport plc(MA plc) and National Air Traffic Services(NATS) Manchester, while not directlycontributing to the event involving G-XLAG, raised additional concerns. In lightof this, the scope of the investigation wasextended to include the manner in whichMA plc and NATS had planned and man-aged the rubber-removal operation.

The operator, MA plc and NATS have

now taken considerable steps to addressmost of the issues raised in the AAIBreport, which contains six safety recom-mendations concerning runway safety,

including specific recommendations con-cerning operations at Manchester Airport.

AnalysisThe AAIB report includes an analysis

of several aspects of the incident, includ-ing flight crew planning and, in the wakeof the incident, follow-up action by thoseconcerned. Following is an extract of thecomments on these two topics.

Flight Crew Planning. Prior to a flight,as part of the planning process, flightcrews are required to check all relevantnotices to airmen (NOTAMs). In addi-tion, the aircraft operator requires thatthe departure automatic terminal infor-mation service (ATIS) message is record-ed on the flight navigation log.

The flight crew reporting time used bythe operator of one hour prior to depar-ture, while complying with the regula-tions, provided little extra time to resolve

F

NUMBER 1, 2007 11

INCIDENT REPORTThis article is comprised of extracts from a formalreport on a serious incident involving a Boeing 737at Manchester Airport on 16 July 2003. The report bythe U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Board, releasedin December 2006, can be viewed in its entirety atthe AAIB website (www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/sites/aaib/publications/formal_reports.cfm). Extracts appearhere in the interest of promoting awareness of safetyissues.

After becoming airborne, the B737 came within 56 feetof a large maintenance vehicle removing rubberdeposits from the runway’s surface

39154.P11 2/15/07 7:19 AM

any problems which might arise in theplanning phase of a flight. However,should more time be required by theflight crew owing to unforeseen complica-tions, the operator would not hold thecrew responsible for any delay in ensur-ing the safe dispatch of the aircraft.Despite this, in this instance the com-mander might well have felt under pres-sure not to delay the flight; the lack oftime having, in part, been exacerbated byhis own late arrival at the airport.

It is often the case that flight crewsreport earlier than required by the operatorto ensure that planning is completed ingood time, as was the case with G-XLAG’sco-pilot on the day of the incident. On learn-ing that the aircraft commander would belate, he attempted to avert any subsequentdelay to the flight by completing sufficientplanning to be able to pass thefuel uplift figure to the aircraftrefuellers. As the co-pilot wassolely interested in gettingsufficient information to makethis calculation, he lookedonly at those NOTAMs for thedestination and diversion air-fields.

When the commanderarrived at the crew room, hechecked the fuel figures atthat time by reference to the flight planand weather forecasts for the destinationand alternate airports; however, he didnot read the relevant NOTAMs, decidinginstead to check them once he was on theaircraft. While the flight crew had theintention of reading all the relevantNOTAMs before departure, they missedthe opportunity to thoroughly brieftogether in the crew room. Once on theaircraft, they were subject to the usual dis-tractions involved in pre-flight preparationand the pressure of trying to make theirallocated departure time. As a result,despite their stated intentions, theNOTAM of critical importance to theirdeparture, detailing the work-in-progresson Runway 06L/24R, was never read.

Although unaware of the content ofthis NOTAM, the ATIS provided bothpilots with another opportunity to learn of

INCIDENT REPORT

the work-in-progress. The ATIS broad-cast gives a letter allocation at the startand finish of the information to ensurethat those listening are aware that theyhave received the full transmission. Theweather information was heard by the co-pilot, as he noted it in the appropriateplace on the navigation log, but it was notpossible to establish if either pilot had lis-tened to the information about the work-in-progress.

The weather information from theATIS was used by the pilots to calculatetheir performance for the take-off. Thiswas done, however, using performancefigures for Runway 06L at its normallength, and not the reduced length inforce at the time of their planned depar-ture. The performance figures calculatedwere correct for the normal runway

length and allowed for thereduced thrust take-offwhich was subsequently per-formed. The pilots had nodata available which wouldhave allowed them to calcu-late their performance forthe reduced runway length,and they were not in a posi-tion to obtain this data atsuch short notice.

Subsequent calculationrevealed that the crew correctly calculat-ed their take-off speeds based on theirbelief that they were using Runway 06L atits normal length. The aircraft was, how-ever, more than nine tonnes overweightfor a take-off on the reduced lengthRunway 06L when using the calculatedreduced thrust.

On 9 July, a member of the operator’sground staff had attended a monthlymeeting held by the airport operator forairlines using the airport. The minutes ofthis meeting recorded that the AirfieldPolicy and Planning Manager hadadvised that there would shortly be somerunway restrictions in place on Runway06L/24R, due to maintenance workinvolving the removal of rubber deposits,although precise details were not given.This information was not passed on toeither the operator’s pilot managers at

Manchester or the company operationsdepartment at Gatwick, as it was consid-ered the meeting was designed to coverissues of importance only to the groundstaff (i.e. the terminal and ramp areas). Itwas considered that, if it were of impor-tance to flight operations, the airportoperator would pass the relevant informa-tion to the various operators through adifferent channel.

Therefore, in the absence of anydetailed notification of the restrictionsplanned for Runway 06L/24R, neither thepilot managers at Manchester nor theiroperations department at Gatwick werein a position to notify their flight crews ofthe work and its implications, or to pro-duce and disseminate revised perform-ance figures for operation from Runway06L/24R at reduced length.

It might have been expected that, onceit became apparent that runway work hadcommenced, such actions would havebeen taken by the operator. It is also pos-sible to argue, however, that there wouldbe no benefit in doing so as all the neces-sary information concerning the workwas already available to flight crews inthe relevant NOTAM. In addition, theoperator stated that it would not have pro-vided revised performance tables in thiscase for such temporary work, as the fulllength of Runway 06R/24L was availableas an alternative. Their pilots would,therefore, have had no choice but to useRunway 06R/24L, for which revised per-formance figures were not required.

Follow-up Actions. Following this inci-dent, the pilots involved received appro-priate retraining before returning to fly-ing duties. The operator’s own investiga-tion, and that of its CAA FlightOperations Inspector, revealed no otherissues requiring action.

Steps were taken to improve the safetyculture within NATS at Manchester by,among other measures, introducing amore open and robust reporting regime.Assets have also been made available tocreate a new safety and developmentmanagement post. At the national level,NATS has taken on several new initia-tives to increase the level of information

12 ICAO JOURNAL

While the pilotsintended to read

all NOTAMs before departure,they missed the

opportunity to do so in the crew room

39154.P12 2/15/07 7:19 AM

dissemination between their various ATCunits and to provide safety staff with bet-ter training. NATS is also carrying out astudy to assess the level of safety culturewithin its various units and to provide ameans of tracking any changes.

The working relationship between NATSand MA plc has come under close scrutinyfrom both sides and as a result of changeshas now improved considerably. In particu-lar, both sides have worked jointly to pro-vide better agreement on the process lead-ing up to similar projects being undertakenin the future. This includes a joint hazardanalysis process and better internal dis-semination of information.

The CAA published two documents in2003 relating to combined hazard proce-dures: The Management of Safety (CAP 726)and Guidance on Aerodrome DevelopmentProcedures (CAP 729). In addition, the CAAhad published further and more up-to-dateguidance on this subject in a documenttitled Guidance on the Conduct of HazardIdentification, Risk Assessment and the

INCIDENT REPORT

Production of Safety Cases for AerodromeOperators and ATS Providers (CAP 760).

The airport operator has taken thedecision not to conduct take-offs or land-ings towards planned work-in-progress.The operator has stated that it has alsoimproved the sharing of safety and opera-tional lessons learned amongst the air-port group of which it is a member.

Investigation findingsThe AAIB report contains 43 findings

in all. Among the conclusions are the fol-lowing:• The request for NOTAM action wasapplied for by the airport operatorapproximately three hours prior to thecommencement of the rubber-removaloperation on 14 July 2003.• The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)confirmed that the correct reduced run-way distances had been calculated whencontacted by the airport operator on themorning of 14 July 2003.• Rubber-removal operations com-

menced at 1430 hours local time on 14July 2003 and were completed by 2053hours local time on 17 July 2003.• No evidence was found that theNOTAM detailing the work had beencancelled by the airport operator whenthe work had been completed ahead ofschedule.• Work was in progress at the time of theincident at the end of Runway 06L.• The work-in-progress was promulgat-ed by NOTAM and transmitted on theATIS to which the two pilots had access.• The co-pilot listened to the ATIS broad-cast, which contained details about theweather, bird activity and the work-in-progress, but only copied down detailsabout the weather.• Manchester ATC advised the pilots ofthe reduced runway distance available fortake-off.• The pilots did not read the NOTAMsrelating to Manchester Airport prior tothe aircraft’s departure.

NUMBER 1, 2007 13


Aerodrome chart for Manchester International Airport showing the point at which the aircraft entered the runway and its position atlift-off in relation to the ground vehicle performing maintenance on the runway

T IS IMPORTANT to make the mostof information resources, if onlybecause the lack of sufficient data

often leads decision makers to flawedconclusions. Planners, it is commonlysaid — only half in jest — spend half theiryear trying to explain future behaviour,and the rest of the year explaining whytheir projections did not come to pass. Atevery level, planning organizations endup classifying actual results as “atypical”behaviour that stems from variables nottaken into account in the projectionmodel used. The omission is usuallyexplained by the fact that the modelalready had independent variables whichsatisfactorily explained past behaviour. Inreality, during the formulation of themodel, certain variables were excludedbecause they were probably not consid-ered representative owing to their lowprobability.

Even today, many countries still do notgive the aviation industry the importanceit is due and the attention that is necessaryfor its continued success. The develop-ment of a statistical system is often pre-vented by lack of resources, but itsabsence compels countries to make deci-sions about air transport based on studiesfocused on other markets. It is also com-mon, where statistical systems are inplace, for countries to have informationwhich is insufficient or which has not beenproperly consolidated or made available.

In bilateral and multilateral air transportagreements, negotiators who lack suffi-

AVIATION STATISTICS

Integrated information system facilitateseffective decision making

By incorporating data on aviation activities from various sources in a single information system, as Colombia has recently done, decision makers benefit from having sufficient and timely informationreadily at hand

JORGE A. QUINTANA CRISTANCHO

CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY

(COLOMBIA)

I

cient information often have difficulty insetting their objectives and articulatingtheir case. Often they do not understandmarket dimensions or fail to see whatadded value certain bilateral or multilater-al arrangements can generate for theircountry’s economy. Yet air transport nego-tiations today may be more difficult than

ever, in part because resources can nolonger be squandered in a globalizedworld that demands that governments runtheir affairs more efficiently and soundly.

From a historical perspective, all goodsand services have a life cycle that is sus-ceptible to change because of variables.Many of these are external to the systemof production, and have to do with thequality of information available to thedecision maker. In order to define a prod-uct that will meet today’s needs, compre-hensive and timely background informa-tion is needed on the product itself. Thisincludes its various characteristics andquality, as well as any improvementsmade; the supplier, including the status of

competition and availability of alterna-tives; and the consumer, especially interms of buying power and consumer sat-isfaction. Background is also required onthe environment (this last element con-cerns such variables as economic growthand the political situation).

ICAO has developed a valuable system

of statistical information that allows ana-lysts to visualize the worldwide develop-ment of the aviation industry, mainly theair transport sector. With the support andcollaboration of member States, ICAOperiodically compiles air carrier operatingfigures, complementing these with infor-mation from other international organiza-tions. Individual national and regional sta-tistics systems should be devised usingthe ICAO system as a model.

In creating an aviation information sys-tem, consensus must first be reached bythe economic players involved in the pro-duction, marketing, consumption and regu-lation of aviation goods and services, asthey are the stakeholders that stand to ben-

14 ICAO JOURNAL

Governments, aircraft manufacturers and air carriers all need precise information onthe actual origin and destination of air travellers and cargo shipments

Ces

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ejar

ano

39154.P14 2/15/07 7:20 AM

efit from determining the type of informa-tion needed, the sort of system required forits collection, and the way in which data willbe communicated. Just as information isnot exclusively the responsibility of the pro-ducer or the consumer, neither is it exclu-sively the responsibility of any single partof the chain. Information gathering mustinvolve all airline suppliers, among themfuel providers, aircraft manufacturers,maintenance contractors, computer reser-vations system operators and providers offinancial management services.

Establishing an information system is aprocess that occurs over several years.System modules need to be defined, andof course the sort of information that willconstitute the backbone of the systemhas to be determined, taking into consid-eration the relative importance of variousaspects. The system’s developer, forexample, needs to ensure the validity ofinformation, which must be organized ina highly productive way, thus guarantee-ing consistent information over a longperiod of time. Reliability is also crucial,requiring unambiguous and timely data.And information should be available in aformat that is easily handled over thelong term, and addresses actual needs formeasuring growth.

An aviation statistics information systemsupports the development of a country’saviation sector. In addition to measuringthe quantity of products and services avail-able, it takes into account consumer opin-ion on the quality of theservices offered, andidentifies how theirproviders of aeronauti-cal services are compen-sated. It is also crucial toestablish good coopera-tion between the admin-istrator of the systemand the sources of infor-mation. To some extent,this calls for clearinstructions to reporterson how and when infor-mation must be commu-nicated to the systemadministrator.

AVIATION STATISTICS

The aviation statistics information sys-tem set up by Colombia features an oper-ational information subsystem that cate-gorizes aviation industry activities byemploying different modules for the airtransport sector, special aerial work andrelated activities, as well as several othermodules.

Air transport module. The air transportmodule is comprised of different databas-es dedicated to passenger and cargomovements. These databases are used todisplay the origin and destination of airpassengers and cargo shipments. Theyalso provide information about the type ofservices offered.

Governments, manufacturers and aircarriers all have an interest in knowingabout the size of air transport marketsand the changes these markets undergo.In other words, they need precise infor-mation on the actual origin and destina-tion of travellers and goods.

This is a complex measurement inpractice, especially when factoring inflight connections involving inter-carrieragreements. For this reason, it is impor-tant to identify all such agreements inadvance and confirm which party isresponsible for providing the service.Connections can be associated with oneor more contracts of carriage and withone or more airlines, but whenever anumber of carriers are involved, it can bevery difficult for a system administratorto obtain the necessary information.

Once the content of the desired infor-mation has been defined, it is then neces-sary to determine who will provide suchinformation as well as examine the differ-ent elements affecting the information-gathering process.

Operators of reservations systems andothers involved in marketing services canbe asked to periodically report their salesor reservation figures for a given flight ormarket. Information obtained in this wayneeds to be complemented by travel data,such as details about the advance pur-chase of tickets or the overbooking ofspecific flights. The additional informa-tion is important because while thesedata demonstrate the intention to travel,no certainty as to the date of travel isavailable, and there even exists the possi-bility that travel will not occur at all.

Information from airports is readilyavailable because of the operator’s clearinterest in reporting data. Such informa-tion is usually highly reliable in terms ofdepartures, but not for ascertainingdetails about inbound and outbound pas-sengers and cargo shipments. What theairport operator is most interested in isknowing the destination of departing air-craft, as this information is most perti-nent to generating revenue throughdeparture fees.

Information obtained from immigra-tion and customs authorities is extremelydetailed. However, these data are ratherlimited because they account only for

NUMBER 1, 2007 15

SOURCES

Aviation companies

Users

Environment

SUBSYSTEMS

Operational

Production factor compensation and the State

Quality of service

ECONOMIC IMPACTREPORTS

On-line reports

Specialized journals

Indicators

MODULES

Air transport

Special aerial work

Related activities

Training and licences

Infrastructure and flightprotection services

Costs

Financial statements

Fulfilment of commitments

Complaints

Quality of life

Economic growth

National and international connectivity

Productivity and competitiveness

Environment information

Colombia has developed an integrated aviation statistics information system that is comprised of a numberof modules

39154.P15 2/15/07 7:20 AM

international traffic, a characteristic rein-forced by international agreements onfree trade and air transportation.

Airline information reflects the servic-es rendered in accordance with contractsof carriage. As stated above, however, it isimportant to establish at the outsetwhether the information provided per-tains to the services actually rendered bythe reporting entity, and how codeshar-ing services and other inter-carrierarrangements are to be handled. All infor-mation on 5th and 6th freedomtraffic rights under the samecontract of carriage and air-line must also be included.

There is no such thing asperfect information. Thebest scenario is to obtain theinformation that most close-ly meets the needs of stake-holders. There may be significant overlapin the information needed by airlines andthat required by the State, yet when itcomes to making certain decisions, otherinformation can be quite valuable andtherefore should not be discarded. Forexample, information from immigrationauthorities gives a clearer picture of apotential market not yet directly servedby any airline; sale systems informationenables the prediction of market fluctua-tions during peak season; and airportdata corroborates the quantity of arrivingpassengers and goods, as well as traffic intransit or making connections.

Service characteristics. Air transportservices are characterized by the alterna-tives offered to the user, as reflected inpricing systems that include conditions oftravel and itineraries. What is needed is apricing and itinerary registry system,preferably automated, that shows changesand maintains a historical record.

Complementary stage-by-stage trafficinformation, which is the data gatheredfrom the breakdown of flights into theirindividual stages, provides details abouteach segment of the air transport market,each air carrier and changes in air carriersserving the route, and the types of aircraftused. This information can be obtainedfrom airport and/or airline statistics. It

AVIATION STATISTICS

measures occupancy (i.e. the percentageof seats filled or cargo capacity sold), theactual size of the market in terms of pas-senger-kilometres or cargo-kilometres,the quantity of flight hours, the type of air-craft equipment used, and the routesflown. It also indicates which airlines aremaking the best use of resources.

Special aerial work. Special aerial workrefers to all aviation activities other thancommercial air transport operations. Thisincludes crop spraying, ambulance servic-

es, firefighting, aerial survey-ing, and the like. Statisticsfocus on the data provided bythe operator on the type of air-craft, number of operations,hours flown and, in the case offumigation, the areas andcrops affected and the chemi-cal products applied.

Related activities. This heading coversall aircraft manufacturing and mainte-nance activities and specialized airportservices. Gauging these various activitiesis somewhat complicated, and for thisreason it is necessary to first classifyservices in accordance with the complex-ity of the tasks involved.

Alongside related activities, it is beneficialto have a module dedicated to training andlicensing. In order to recognize a country’scapacity for technical training, information isneeded about the personnel licensed foreach activity, as well as the existing trainingcentres and their resources.

Information about a country’s aviationsector cannot be complete if the particu-larities of its infrastructure are unknown.ICAO has recommended enhancement ofworldwide infrastructure because the cur-rent global transport system is not capableof accommodating anticipated trafficgrowth. However, there still exist infra-structures that have the capacity to sus-tain operational growth. Unlike manycountries where congestion is an obstacleto further growth, countries like Colombiahave underused infrastructure, a situationthat is highlighted by Colombia’s aviationstatistics system.

In addition to an inventory of airports,runways and equipment for air traffic

control, aviation telecommunications,meteorology and aeronautical informa-tion, one must also include changes thataffect their capacity and their use (e.g.number of operations per type of aircraft,air carrier and activity).

The ability to meet the demand for airservices adequately, which is fundamentalto guaranteeing the competitiveness of anairline, can be seen in the degree of satis-faction expressed by consumers. This canbe measured through passenger com-plaints filed with a regulatory entity, thefulfilment of service-related promisesmade by the air carrier, and periodical sur-veys on satisfaction and service standards.

To be used effectively, informationabout service quality should be integrat-ed into the aviation statistics database. Inthe case of Colombia, this information ismaintained as a subsystem.

Another subsystem of the Colombiansystem concerns the viability of produc-ing goods or services and the contribu-tion of certain aviation activities to thewealth of a company, region or country asa whole. Such data are obtained from thefinancial information released by compa-nies and operators involved in the avia-tion sphere, and from the operating costsof different types of aircraft equipment.Some items indicate the added value gen-erated for the economy, as well as the dis-tribution of this value between theresources involved in the production ofgoods and services, and the State. Evenimport and export volumes can be identi-fied in the breakdown of revenue andexternal payments (balance of pay-ments). Knowing the origin of imports isbeneficial because the ability to trace theorigin of new equipment and replacementparts is improved, thereby assuring bet-ter quality control and, ultimately, safety.

Yet another subsystem of an effective avi-ation statistical system concerns the link-age with other statistical systems. InColombia, this is known as the environmentinformation subsystem. This subsystem is

16 ICAO JOURNAL

Jorge A. Quintana Cristancho is the Chief of theSectorial Study Group, Special Administrative Unit ofCivil Aeronautics, Colombia.


A good informationsystem can support

the development of a country’s aviation sector

39154.P16 2/15/07 7:20 AM

S EVEN the first-time airline pas-senger would know from a glanceat his baggage tag, the air trans-

port industry favours the use of codes toidentify aerodromes. Indeed, the industryhas generated a whole series of codes as ashort-hand notation to identify aircraftoperators and types as well as airports.These codes are used to meet various oper-ational requirements.

The existence of operational codes hascreated a temptation to extend theirapplication to areas for which theywere never intended, such as statis-tical databases, but with poorresults. This is because the mostimportant criterion for any statisti-cal database is that the codesemployed have to be permanent andunique over time. In practice, this isnot the case for existing operationalcodes. In such systems codes needonly be correct and typically distincton the day they are used, and theydo not always represent a uniqueentity over an extended period oftime, a characteristic that must raisethe concern of any statistician.

Perhaps the best way to illus-trate the situation is to examine theoperational codes issued by ICAOand the International AirTransport Association (IATA), orby States in cooperation withICAO, and the issues that mayarise when these are adopted asthe sole identifier for a data recordin a statistical database.

STATISTICAL DATABASES

Statisticians should be wary of usingoperational codes in databases

When existing operational codes are adapted for aviation statistics databases, problems arise. That is why ICAO’s new integrated statistical database automatically augments any operationalcodes submitted by States with unique and permanent codes for unmistakeable record identification.

Location indicatorsThe purpose of ICAO Document 7910,

Location Indicators, is to identify all of thestations which form part of the worldwideaeronautical fixed telecommunicationnetwork (AFTN) used to exchange mes-sages and/or digital data between thesestations. In other words, the location indi-cators are the equivalent to phone num-bers or e-mail addresses. It happens thatmost of these AFTN stations are locatedat airports, therefore these codes are alsoused to identify aerodromes, in particularthose used for international operations.

ICAO location indicators are composed

of four letters (e.g. CYUL for Montreal’sinternational airport). The first letter indi-cates the area in which the communica-tions centre is located; the second desig-nates the State or territory in which thecentre is situated (larger States may usemore than one letter to identify differentareas in their territory); and the last twoletters are assigned to assist in theprocess of routing the message to thecommunications centre.

The primary purpose of the ICAO loca-tion indicator, as noted above, is to identi-fy a communications facility. This couldbe situated at a civil airport or a military

base, in an air traffic control cen-tre or in a civil aviation administra-tion office. In some major centresthere may be “location indicators”for communications centres asso-ciated with particular services,such as meteorological services,in the same physical location.Similarly, in the case of airportsthat combine military and civiloperations, often the location indi-cator identifies the communica-tions facility associated only withthe military installation.

The information presented inDocument 7910 is not always veryclear as to which entity the codebelongs to. Cross-checking thisinformation with other sources issometimes rendered more com-plex for location indicators fromStates with non-Latin based lan-guages. In these cases, names areoften converted on the basis oftheir phonetic sound, and thespelling used by ICAO may differfrom that used by others.

NUMBER 1, 2007 17

ATTILIO COSTAGUTA

ICAO SECRETARIAT

A

ICAO’s location indicators identify stations of the aero-nautical fixed telecommunication network, and interna-tional airports. Nevertheless, the codes are often pressedinto service to identify all airports found in statisticaldatabases.

Jim

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39154.P17 2/15/07 7:20 AM

The structure of the example codecited above does not assure uniquenessover time. In a few cases, States havechanged not only the last two letters ofthe code, but also the first two, thus ren-dering the code useless for identifyingrecords in a statistical database.

States also make use of the location indi-cators in the national AeronauticalInformation Publication (AIP) to identifydesignated international aerodromes andheliports as required by ICAO Annex 15.The convenience of using these codes toidentify aerodromes has prompted manyStates to extend this system to most of theaerodromes in their territory, includingsome that are not part of the AFTN sys-tem. In Document 7910, the codes of theseaerodromes are identified with an asterisk.

IATA, too, has location indicators toidentify aerodromes. These are used toidentify international and domestic aero-dromes with commercial operations.Again, while these are fairly stable, thereis no guarantee that they will remainunique. Published by IATA in the AirlineCoding Directory, at one time these loca-tion indicators were much more numer-ous than those shown by ICAO. Today,most of the IATA indicators have an ICAOequivalent, but despite this development,the two systems are not interchangeable.

Operator codesThe ICAO three-letter system of desig-

STATISTICAL DATABASES

nators for aircraft operators, authoritiesand services became effective in 1987.Prior to that time ICAO, in coordinationwith IATA, had been issuing the morefamiliar two-letter designator still in useby IATA.

As long ago as the late 1970s, it was clearthat there were notenough two-letterdesignators to meetthe needs of anexpanding air trans-port industry. Andalthough ICAO andIATA initially agreedto move to a three-letter system for thisreason, IATA mem-ber airlines twicerequested postpone-ment of the imple-mentation. ICAOeventually decidedto unilaterally pro-ceed with the new

system for international aeronautical com-munications; the assigned three-lettercodes are listed in ICAO Document 8585.

In the meantime, IATA had to stretchits system to accommodate the highernumber of codes required. Codes werechanged from two letters to two alphanu-merical characters. Subsequently, IATAallowed the use of the numbers 1 and 0,characters which had been proscribedfrom the character set as they could beeasily confused with I and O respectively.Finally, it introduced the use of “con-trolled duplicates,” whereby two air carri-ers — usually operating in different geo-graphical regions — share the samecode. In addition, the codes whichbecome available as carriers cease opera-tions are reassigned very quickly to newoperators. Despite these complications,airlines so far prefer to retain the currentautomated system and avoid the cost ofconverting to three-character codes.

As with location indicators, from a sta-tistical standpoint the main problem withthe existing coding systems for aircraftoperators is that neither assures unique-ness. As in the case of IATA, ICAO three-

letter air carrier designators of operatorswhich cease to exist are reassigned tonew air carriers. What’s more, the use ofthese codes extends beyond commercialair carriers to cover other types of aircraftoperators as well as civil aviation authori-ties and ground services.

ICAO codes are created or deleted atthe request of States. States do not, how-ever, always keep ICAO informed in atimely manner, and consequently not allinternational operators have a three-lettercode prior to commencing operations.Similarly, in a few cases, ICAO may stillshow codes for operators long after theyhave ceased to exist.

Any attempt to use the IATA codes toidentify air carriers in a statistical data-base usually proves problematic. Thesecodes are not sufficiently stable to allowfor even a 12-month data series, nevermind one of several years’ duration. Anyentity that has tried to use the airlineschedules available from some vendorsto analyse air carrier data over a period oftime would soon realize what a mistake itmade in tying its system to the IATAcodes. For example, if the same codewere used by more than one air carrierduring the period studied, spurious datafrom the previous owner of the codewould creep into the data set beinganalysed, and this misinformation couldcolour the results without the analyst nec-essarily being aware of the fact.

Type designatorsICAO publishes aircraft type designa-

tors to be used for air traffic services(ATS). These codes, listed in Document8643, are primarily intended for use inflight plans and associated ATS mes-sages. A different designator for an air-craft variant or subtype will only be allo-cated when there is a significant differ-ence in performance that has an impacton air traffic services. The latter fact isthe real key to why these designators arenot very useful for statistical databases.

18 ICAO JOURNAL

Attilio Costaguta is the Chief of the Economic Analysesand Databases Section of the Air Transport Bureau atICAO headquarters, Montreal.


Any organization creating a new statistics database thatincludes aircraft types would do well to acquaint itself with thenaming standard adopted by CAST/ICAO

Jim

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39154.P18 2/15/07 7:20 AM

INCE the dawn of air transporta-tion, there has been an exponentialincrease in the number of passen-

gers and routes flown, currencies used intransactions, fare types and discount lev-els, to name just a few areas that generatecomplex data. Such an overload of infor-mation can make it difficult for a manag-er to identify ways to improve airline com-petitiveness. This is why a systematicdata collection process is required tohighlight information of value, with sup-port from a management tool known asvariance analysis.

Variance analysis has myriad forms thatrange from simple to complex, but its basicprinciple is simple: compare the actual rev-enue or costs with budgeted or same-peri-od figures to ascertain variances. Onceknown, the reasons for these discrepanciesare determined in such a way that man-agers are empowered with the right infor-mation to address deficiencies, if any, andto make decisions that enhance the airline’scompetitiveness and improve its profitabili-ty. Variance analysis is thus the set of proce-dures adopted by managers to help themunderstand the sources of variancesbetween sets of comparable data.

The reasons for variances betweenactual and targeted capacity may befound in one or more factors, amongthem flight cancellations and reschedul-ing, unscheduled aircraft maintenance,unanticipated changes in equipment,unexpected block speeds, en-route andairport congestion, unforeseen payloadrestrictions and unplanned changes inpayload configurations.

AVIATION STATISTICS

Variance analysis can help airlinesimprove their competitive edge

An analytical process known as variance analysis is valuable in understanding why an airline’s actualand projected revenues and costs are different, thereby highlighting ways to improve the bottom line

A. SAINARAYAN

ICAO SECRETARIAT

Understanding what underlies variancesin capacity makes it possible to track trafficchanges related to each route group andthe impact of such changes on revenues,costs and profitability. Analysing the effectsof traffic growth facilitates decisions on theoptimal deployment of capacity. Addressingvariances in block speeds will also help inminimizing fuel burn and operating costswherever practicable.

An example of variance analysis at themacro level, which inthis case focused onthe world’s sched-uled airlines in 2005and 2004, is illustrat-ed in the accompany-ing table. The adja-cent figure showssome individualcosts, expressed as a percentage oftotal operating expenses, related to thisglobal analysis. As shown, the share offuel costs increased from 11 percent oftotal operating expenses in 1999 toaround 19.5 percent in 2005. Airlinesresponded to this challenge by usingtechnology and improving processes toreduce some controllable costs, notablythat of distribution and, to a lesserextent, passenger service costs. (SeeICAO Journal Issue 5/2006, pages 10-11 for more details concerning the vari-ance analysis presented in the accom-panying table and figure.)

Revenue variance analysisManagers are often presented with rev-

enue figures spanning comparable peri-ods. It is crucial for the manager to dis-cern why the variances in revenues occurso that steps can be taken to enhance rev-enue generation.

The basic document from which rev-enue data is collected is the passengerticket, with revenue being generated atthe time of travel. The calculation mustaccount for commissions, adjustments forinterline claims, special discounts, and soforth. It also takes into account sales inforeign currency.

Many airlines use specific software toaccount for their revenues. The end prod-uct of the process is statements of passen-

ger revenues covering different routegroups for comparable time periods.These statements simply show whetherthere has been a positive or negativechange in revenues on different routes,and of course overall passenger revenuesfor comparable time periods. They do notaccount for variances, and the informa-

S

NUMBER 1, 2007 19

2005 versus 2004 Operating Operating Operatingrevenues ($ billion) expenses ($ billion) result ($ billion)

2005 413.3 409.0 4.32004 378.8 375.5 3.3Variance in $ billion +34.5 +33.5 +1.0Due to change in:Traffic (revenues) and

capacity (expenses) +18.6 +17.4 +1.2Unit revenues and unit costs +15.2 +15.6 -0.4Differences in exchange rate +0.7 +0.5 +0.2

Costs as a percentage of total

operating expense, 1999-2005

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Distribution

99 00 01 02 03 04 05

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Fuel

Example of variance analysis: changes in oper-ating revenues and expenses, 2005 vs 2004(scheduled air carriers of ICAO member States).The figure illustrates specific costs expressed asa percentage of total operating expenses.

39154.P19 2/15/07 7:20 AM

tion they contain is not helpful in decidinghow to boost revenues. To understand thereasons for revenue variances, it is neces-sary first to determine the variances thatstem from currency exchange transac-tions, yield and traffic developments.

To some extent, variances in revenuescan be traced to transactions involving cur-rency exchanges, moresofor airlines that operateinternationally. Sales trans-actions are performed inmultiple currencies, butare converted on a regularbasis to the home curren-cy, according to the peri-odic rate of exchangeadopted by the airline.

Variances in the level ofbookings between compa-rable periods, when con-sidered in light of differ-ent currencies represent-ing a portion of total saleson a route, indicate towhat extent the revenuegrowth or decline was caused by fluctua-tions in the currency exchange rate. Whenmajor foreign currencies are a criticalcomponent of revenues in a route group,the airline must decide whether theimpact of currency exchange fluctuationswarrants currency risk management. If so,several alternative approaches to manag-ing currency risk are available.

When an airline’s revenues are denom-inated in a foreign currency, in effect itholds assets valued in that currency. Oneway to manage the economic risk inher-ent in this situation is to establish a natu-ral hedge by arranging long-term financ-ing in the currency concerned, andundertaking currency trades, especially ifthe airline foresees that revenues in for-eign currency will form an integral part ofits long-term strategy. If financing is notdeemed appropriate, “forward” contractsor currency put or call options may beconsidered. What’s important is that theairline weigh the benefits of hedging.Simply put, the goal is to reduce vari-ances in future cash flows and improvethe airline’s ability to plan. But hedging is

AVIATION STATISTICS

not a win-win situation; to apply this strat-egy, the airline must project the currencyexchange rate for a specific period andmust be prepared to accept a negativeimpact if this prediction turns out to begrossly inaccurate.

Even without the use of hedging, anairline will still find it necessary to pin-

point how much of the variance in rev-enues for a particular route group iscaused by currency exchange rate fluctu-ations, as such information can providethe air carrier with a competitive advan-tage. If an airline finds, for example, thatits home currency on a specific route isdepreciating against an important foreigncurrency component on the same route(usually bookings made for the returnleg), it can increase profitability by adopt-ing a short-term strategy focused on theappreciating foreign currency. If, howev-er, the long-term trend points to adepressed home currency, with the costof the home currency not rising commen-surately with the level of depreciation, theairline might decide to benefit from this.It could decide to lower fares in theappreciating foreign currency, thusincreasing market share on the routeconcerned. Such an action would putpressure on the competitor to match theprice in order to retain market share.

For a number of reasons, it is clear thatan airline needs a currency reporting sys-tem and analyses of variances as they

develop for each route group, since thereis an impact on its competitiveness, prof-itability and planning process.

After accounting for the impact ofexchange fluctuations, variance in rev-enues can be broken down further foreach fare class and type, based on changesin commissions and special discount rates,

and the real increase ordecrease in air fares. Suchan analysis will help deter-mine whether steps takento increase yields or trafficare bearing results, orneed to be reviewed.

Traffic variances can befurther analysed to accountfor the increase or declinein capacity offered, and thereal growth in traffic relat-ed to changing load factors.

A variance in traffic fig-ures may be misleadingsince this could occur asa result of an adjustmentin capacity offered vis-à-

vis the comparable periods. Usually anincrease in flight frequency will boostmarket share, provided there is no corre-sponding growth in capacity offered bycompetitors on the same route. Similarly,flight cancellations and service withdraw-al will lead to a traffic decline. It is there-fore necessary to isolate the traffic vari-ance related to changes in capacity andarrive at true traffic variance attributableto load factor changes, while comparingequivalent capacities for comparable peri-ods. The real variance in traffic, afterexcluding the impact of capacity adjust-ments, needs to be determined for differ-ent fare classes and types for the routegroup concerned.

Variances cannot be traced simply toyields or traffic developments. To achieveeffective revenue management and opti-mize revenues through better inventorymanagement, variances should be lookedat in a holistic manner, considering all

20 ICAO JOURNAL

A. Sainarayan is a Statistical Officer employed in theEconomic Analyses and Databases Section of the AirTransport Bureau at ICAO headquarters, Montreal.


Using variance analysis, an airline can exercise cost control and obtain atrue picture of the cost of its efforts to increase revenues and profitability

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39154.P20 2/15/07 7:20 AM

In today’s fast changing aviation environment, knowing the practices of your competitors and others in the field of charges is a necessity. ICAO’s Tariffs for Airports and Air Navigation Services (Doc 7100)contains data on airport and air navigation services charges in more than 180 States

Hard copy: U.S. $350 • CD-ROM: U.S. $350 • Hard copy and CD-ROM: U.S. $425

The new edition of the CD-ROM offers you more by providing:

• Easy search functions; • Two more ICAO publications:

ICAO’s Policies on Charges for Airports and Air Navigation Services (Doc 9082); andSupplement to Doc 9082 with information on States’ general charging policies and their implementation.

For more information please contact:Economic Policy and Infrastructure Management Section Tel. (514) 954-6098International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

To place an order please contact:Document Sales Unit999 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 5H7Tel. (514) 954-8022 • Fax (514) 954-6769E-mail: [email protected]:/www.icao.int/eshop

Are your fees too high? Too low? Where to find out? — In Doc 7100!

ICAO’s Tariffs for Airports and Air Navigation Services (Doc 7100)

ICAOElectronic publications

User charges around the world

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* Detail of a mural on display at the ICAO headquarters building, Montreal.

NEW EDITION! Now available on searchable CD-ROM

39154.P21 2/16/07 9:16 AM

NCREASING travel, trade, andtourism associated with globalizationand expansion of the human popula-

tion have facilitated intentional and unin-tentional movement of species beyondnatural biogeographical barriers, andmany of these alien species have becomeharmful to native ecosystems. Thosespecies whose introduction or spread out-side their natural past or present distribu-tion threaten biological diversity areknown as “invasive alien species.”Invasive alien species have invaded andaffected native biota in almost everyecosystem type on Earth, and have affect-ed all major biological and botanicalgroups.

PUBLIC SECURITY

Air transport remains a major pathwayfor invasive alien species

Although many governments recognize that invasive alien species is a serious issue, there is still little international guidance available for assisting States in developing effective national policiesand measures to combat the problem

DR. AHMED DJOGHLAF

UNEP SECRETARIAT OF THE CONVENTION

ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

I

Civil air transport is one important path-way by which species are moved intention-ally or unintentionally beyond natural barri-ers. Movement of both passengers andfreight by civil aircraft is expected toincrease by more than 5 percent annuallythrough 2009, according to theInternational Air Transport Association(IATA); ICAO, meanwhile, foresees aworldwide increase in aircraft movementsof 3.2 percent per year through 2015. Givensuch forecasts, the role of this pathway can-not be expected to diminish any time soon.

A meeting of experts held under theConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD)in 2005 identified civil air transport as oneof the pathways where further efforts areneeded to minimize risks associated withinvasive alien species. Subsequently, at the8th Conference of the Parties (COP) tothe Convention on Biological Diversityheld in Brazil in March 2006, govern-

ments addressed the issue in relation tocivil air transport specifically. Similarly,the ICAO Assembly has adopted resolu-tions on the matter, with the intention ofcombating the movement of invasive alienspecies through civil air transport.

According to the Millennium EcosystemAssessment, carried out under the aus-pices of the United Nations from 2001 to2005 and involving more than 1,300 authorsfrom 95 countries, invasive alien speciesare one of the most important drivers ofbiodiversity loss at the global level, and oneof the most significant issues in terms ofconsequences for human well-being. Thesefindings were reiterated in the CBD report,Global Biodiversity Outlook 2, which waspublished in 2006.

In addition, the economic costs associat-ed with the impacts of invasive alienspecies on crops, pastures and forests, aswell as control costs, have been estimatedto be hundreds of billions of dollars. Therelative impacts have varied amongregions and biomes, but in almost all casesthe impact is either steady or increasing.One study for the United States estimatescosts of U.S. $137 billion per year from anarray of invasive species; among the worstexamples, water hyacinth and other alienaquatic weeds affecting water use current-ly cost developing countries over U.S.$100 million annually. (For more informa-tion on how invasive alien species affectecology, visit www.gisp.org/ecology/).

There are many different pathways forthe introduction and spread of invasivealien species. They include ship’s ballastwater, hull fouling, the pet and aquariumtrade, aquaculture, scientific research, andmilitary activities, to name just a few. Civilair transport is of particular importance

22 ICAO JOURNAL

Many governments have taken the problem of invasive alien species very seriously andhave developed guidelines and procedures specific to civil aviation

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because of the ability of aircraft to coverlong distances in a short time, andbecause of the large volume of passengerand cargo movements at the global level.Species may be moved in several waysincluding inside the aircraft cabin, wherethey may be present on passengers’ cloth-ing; inside checked or carry-on luggage,either intentionally or not; as stowaways incargo holds, wheel wells and other aircraftparts; and in association with particulartypes of cargo, including packing material.

Many governments have taken thisissue very seriously and have developed

guidelines and procedures specific to civilaviation. In other cases, specific measureshave been taken to address particularspecies. As one example, Mauritius hasadopted stringent measures to prevent theintroduction of a sugar cane pest — a bee-tle known as the white grub or ver blanc— that is indigenous to Madagascar. Thisparticular pest has successfully invadedLa Réunion, which lies 150 kilometreswest of Mauritius. The measures taken toprevent introduction of the beetle from LaRéunion include changes in flight depar-ture times, with no aircraft allowed todepart La Réunion for Mauritius between1830 local time and dawn; the restriction isnecessary because the beetle actively fliesaround at dusk and is attracted to light.Among other precautions are regularinspections around the high-risk areas of

PUBLIC SECURITY

Mauritius, such as in the vicinity of the air-port, and regular spraying in the regionsurrounding the airport. More informa-tion on Mauritius’ campaign to keep thebeetle at bay is available online atwww.cabi -bioscience.ch/wwwgisp/gtc2cs15.htm.

Although efforts similar to this have

been initiated in a number of countries,there is little guidance at the internationallevel that can assist governments in devel-oping national policies and measures toaddress invasive alien species in civil airtransport. In 2005, an expert group underthe CBD concluded that a major gap in theinternational regulatory framework forinvasive alien species relates to the path-way of civil air transport. The Conferenceof the Parties to the CBD subsequentlydecided that it was necessary to addressthe fact that civil aviation and other keypathways contribute to the problem.

Governments have recognized, throughresolutions and decisions of the governingbodies of both ICAO and the CBD, thatcivil air transport is an important pathwayfor invasive alien species. The issue hasbeen taken seriously in both organizations.

ICAO Assembly Resolution A35-19,adopted in 2004, reflects a commitment byICAO member States to support oneanother’s efforts to reduce the risks ofintroducing potentially invasive alienspecies through civil air transport. Thesame resolution also requested the ICAOCouncil to develop guidance material and,if appropriate, standards and recommend-ed practices (SARPs) to assist ContractingStates in reducing the risks of introducingpotentially invasive alien species, and tocontinue working with appropriate organi-zations on this issue.

In early 2005 ICAO urged its memberStates to forward the “best practices” fol-lowed by the various national agenciesinvolved in agriculture, horticulture, cus-toms, quarantine and health matters forpreventing the introduction of invasivealien species by air. About 35 Statesresponded to the request, a clear indica-tion that many governments take the issueseriously. Faced with other priorities, how-ever, ICAO has not been able to completethe survey by analysing the results. TheGlobal Invasive Species Programme(GISP), set up in 1997 to conserve biodi-versity by promoting global cooperation ininvasive species prevention and manage-ment, is attempting to raise a smallamount of funds to carry out this analysisand subsequently develop guidelines forinvasive species prevention in civil avia-tion. Airport authorities, airlines or otherdonors interested in supporting this effortshould contact GISP directly (e-mail PhilipIvey at [email protected]).

Given the well-known impacts of inva-sive alien species, it is no surprise that thisissue has become one of the important ele-ments addressed by the CBD. The man-date for this work is a Convention articlecalling for States to prevent the introduc-tion of, or to control or eradicate, thosealien species that threaten ecosystems,habitats or species. The COP has adoptedseveral decisions related to invasive alien

NUMBER 1, 2007 23

Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf is the Executive Secretary of theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity,which is located in Montreal. For more information onthe CBD, visit (www.biodiv.org).


International trade has resulted in the movement of species beyond natural biogeographicbarriers. These alien species have in many cases become harmful to native ecosystems.Among examples are (clockwise from left): the red fire ant, a native of South America thatinvaded Australia, New Zealand and the United States; the house sparrow, brought to theAmericas, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and many islands from its native Eurasia;and the European bumblebee, introduced to Tasmania by ships and aircraft.

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39154.P23 2/15/07 7:21 AM

OMODEDOVO InternationalAirport is the largest airport inthe Russian Federation, and a

leader in domestic and international pas-senger and cargo air services. It hasattained this position through an activeinvestment policy aimed at reconstructingand re-equipping the airport with the mostadvanced level of technology. Given itsimportance to the air transport system,aviation security at the airport has beensignificantly enhanced to address con-cerns raised a few years ago when terror-ists were able to board aircraft atDomodedovo.

Recent measures to strengthen securitycommenced after the tragic events of 24August 2004, when, for the first time ever,the airport was used by suicidebombers who caused the destructionof two airliners shortly after theirdeparture from Domodedovo. ATupolev Tu-134A aircraft, operatedby Volga-AviaExpress, and a Tu-154,operated by Siberia Airlines, took offfrom the airport 41 minutes apartonly to be destroyed in the air withthe loss of 90 passengers and crewmembers.

Immediately after these events, aspecially established security teambegan to study ways to strengthensecurity at Domodedovo. It reviewedthe airport’s security system andmade decisions on a wide range ofmeasures. These included a revisionof the security procedures, changes

AVIATION SECURITY

Security is strengthened at most importantairport in Russia in wake of terrorist attacks

Following the destruction of two airliners in 2004 by suicide bombers who enplaned at Moscow’sDomodedovo Airport, a major enhancement of security has been undertaken at the airport, which now has the most modern equipment and employs the most advanced security procedures

VALENTIN ANISIMOV

FEDERAL AUTHORITY FOR TRANSPORT OVERSIGHT

(RUSSIAN FEDERATION)

D

in personnel, acquisition of new genera-tion security equipment and implementa-tion of new training programmes for secu-rity officers.

A newly created company, Domode-dovo Airport Aviation Security, now pro-vides a wide range of services intended toimpose a higher level of security at the air-port, a goal largely achieved by imple-menting a more technologically advancedsecurity system. The system provides pos-itive control over passengers from thetime they enter the airport terminal untiltheir boarding. It also covers the screen-ing of passengers and crew members,their cabin and hold baggage, airport per-sonnel, cargo shipments, catering sup-plies, stores and airmail.

To provide additional security, othermeasures include the screening of eachpassenger’s shoes and garments, passen-ger profiling, and video recording of themovement of passengers throughout the

security-restricted areas and at check-inpoints using more than 500 digital videochannels. There is also a system for detect-ing unacceptable or wanted persons.

A three-layer baggage screening systemhas been integrated into the automatedbaggage sorting line with a handling capac-ity of up to 7,000 bags per hour, and an elec-tronic known shipper verification systemhas also been implemented. There is alsovideo monitoring of the terminal buildingand the adjacent areas, and automated con-trol over car parking spaces, including theverification of licence plates with integratedstate licence plate system data.

The airport’s security system has beenimplemented with the intention of improv-ing the application of security measuresand the quality of security assessment atall levels of the multilayer system.

Requirements for pre-flight screening ofcrew members and their cabin and holdbaggage are the same as those applied to

passengers. Plans for using biometri-cal data during screening of airportpersonnel and vehicle drivers enteringthe security-restricted areas are nowbeing implemented. Security of cater-ing supplies, stores and airmail isassured by 100 percent screening.Catering and kitchen equipment andloading devices are checked for com-pliance with the security require-ments and then positioned in the secu-rity-restricted area under surveillance.

Aircraft checks and searches arecarried out by specially trained securi-ty officers or, if appropriate, by bomb-disposal experts and law-enforcementofficers. Aircraft cabins, cargo com-partments and all hatches are inspect-ed. The airport territory and perime-

24 ICAO JOURNAL

Security measures at Moscow’s DomodedovoAirport have been stepped up following the in-flightdestruction of two airliners by suicide bombers whoboarded the aircraft at Domodedovo in August 2004

39154.P24 2/15/07 7:21 AM

ter are patrolled on an around-the-clockbasis and are protected by modern means.For example, a “smart fence” concept willsoon be implemented.

Along with standard passenger screen-ing systems (i.e. Heimann Hi-Scan 6040,Hi-scan-100100, Rapiscan-524 and Rap-iscan-528), the airport uses state-of-the-artL3 SafeScout-100 portal scanner based onmillimetre-wave technology and explosivestrace detection systems such as HeimannIonoscan-400B, General Electric Itemizer-3and portable vapour tracers. It has also suc-cessfully tested a restricted area accesscontrol system developed by the Israelicompany, Nemesysco, which is based on amultilevel voice analysis technology. Thesystem analyses the voice characteristics ofa passenger, probing for emotional indica-tors such as nervousness, and based on theresults, directs him or her through the“green” or “red” corridor. This system isnow being installed at the airport.

Perhaps one of the most remarkablemeans of security enhancement is a bodyX-ray-based scanner developed in Russia,which has now been installed at each pas-senger security checkpoint. This deviceallows screening to be performed withoutremoval of shoes and garments such asjackets. The equipment is harmless to

AVIATION SECURITY

human health, since the amount of radia-tion received by a passenger during thescreening is equivalent to that obtainednaturally during 10-15 minutes at an airlin-er’s typical cruising altitude.

In 2006, U.S. $150 million was allocatedfor further development at the airport, ofwhich $20 million has been earmarked forsecurity system enhancements. Similaramounts will be spent in 2007.

With these funds, the airport plans toacquire new equipment for analysing traveldocuments as well as new portable X-raysystems, tomographs for baggage scan-ning, scanners for passenger screening,and a multilevel baggage scanning system.The money will also be used to acquire air-port personnel access control and passen-ger check-in biometrical systems, as well asadditional digital video monitoring and dis-creet observation video systems, and otherspecial control equipment.

In March 2006, aviation security special-ists from the Russian Federation’s FederalAuthority for Transport Oversight and theU.S. Transportation Security Adminis-tration conducted a joint assessment of theairport’s security level and confirmed thatthe operational security measures at theairport were at an acceptable level, andwere in compliance with the requirements

of ICAO Annex 17.In summary, as a result of the investiga-

tion into the events of August 2004, Russiahas developed and implemented a complexset of security measures. These includechanges to the legislation and regulationsof the Russian Federation to require morestringent measures for safeguarding thetransport system and strengthening admin-istrative and criminal penalties for violationof transport security measures. At majorairports across Russia, there are nowrequirements for mandatory screening ofshoes and outer garments of each passen-ger, and for passenger profiling. Personalsearch of passengers by an explosives tracedetector is also required. Major airportssuch as Domodedovo have been equippedwith advanced screening facilities includ-ing explosives detection systems, and thereis positive control over the entire passengerflow up to the time they board an aircraft.

Major airports are also required toemploy three-level baggage screening sys-tems. At the first stage, 100 percent baggage

NUMBER 1, 2007 25

Valentin Anisimov is an Assistant to the Director, FederalAuthority for Transport Oversight, in the Ministry ofTransport of the Russian Federation. A member of the ICAOAviation Security Panel, Mr. Anisimov is a former ICAOSecretariat staff member and, more recently, a formerAlternate Representative of the Russian Federation on theCouncil of ICAO.


The new aviation security system implemented at the busiest airport in the Russian Federation provides positive control overthe flow of passengers from the time they enter the terminal until they board the aircraft

39154.P25 2/15/07 7:29 AM

26 ICAO JOURNAL

ICAO UPDATE Industry presents final part of Safety RoadmapICAO was presented on 4 December 2006 with the sec-ond and final part of the Global Aviation Safety Roadmapdeveloped by members of the air transport industry, inconsultation with ICAO safety specialists, and designedto establish one level of safety worldwide.

The creation of the Roadmap represents the firsttime that governments and industry have jointly devel-oped a unified and coordinated approach to reducingaccident rates, particularly in the developing regionsof the world, in accordance with the ICAO GlobalAviation Safety Plan.

The Roadmap was produced by a team formedspecifically for the purpose, and known as theIndustry Safety Strategy Group (ISSG). The ISSG iscomposed of representatives of the International AirTransport Association (IATA), Airbus, Boeing, AirportsCouncil International (ACI), the Civil Air NavigationServices Organisation (CANSO), Flight SafetyFoundation (FSF), and the International Federation ofAir Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA). All ISSG mem-bers are committed to assisting in the implementationof the Roadmap, and in updating the document as required.

Part 1 of the Roadmap — a strategic action plan for futureaviation safety — was presented to ICAO in December 2005.It provides the framework for action by the ContractingStates of ICAO, regions and the industry to correct inconsis-tencies and weaknesses in 12 main areas, among them theimplementation of international standards, regulatory over-sight, incident and accident investigation, safety manage-ment systems, and deployment of sufficient qualified person-nel. The document sets one or more short- and medium-termobjectives for each focal area over the next 10 years.

Part 2, concerned with implementation of the action plan,describes and sets priorities for specific coordinated actionsby industry to reduce risk and improve safety worldwide. Foreach objective identified in the strategic action plan, Part 2proposes best practices along with related industry refer-ences and compliance metrics. Part 2 also includes annexescontaining recommendations on existing and proven tech-nologies (and associated training programmes) to furtherenhance safety in flight operations, airport operations and airtraffic control (ATC) domains, as well as regional implementa-tion through a knowledge-based regional assessment anddeployment strategy.

The Roadmap stems from a meeting between ICAO’s AirNavigation Commission and industry representatives in May2005, at which time it was acknowledged that furtherenhancements to aviation safety worldwide required a betteralignment of strategies and coordination of efforts by allstakeholders including States, regulators, airline operators,airports, aircraft manufacturers, pilot associations, safetyorganizations and providers of air traffic and air navigationservices. It was agreed that a global safety roadmap would

provide the necessary framework for such action, and IATAoffered to coordinate the effort.

Part 1 of the Roadmap — the action plan — was endorsedby aviation leaders at a global ICAO conference in March2006, with a recommendation that ICAO collaborate with allStates and other stakeholders to continue developing anintegrated approach to safety initiatives based on the GlobalAviation Safety Roadmap. nn

ICAO was presented with the final part of the Global Aviation SafetyRoadmap on 4 December 2006. Shown on the occasion are (l-r): ICAOCouncil President Roberto Kobeh González; Günther Matschnigg,Senior Vice-President, Safety, Operations and Infrastructure, InternationalAir Transport Association (IATA); then-ANC President Adrian Sayce; andICAO Secretary General Dr. Taïeb Chérif.

New approach recommendedfor enhancing safety in AfricaA recent field mission by an ICAO Air Navigation Commission(ANC) team has highlighted the need for increased ICAOinvolvement in coordinating and managing safety effortsthroughout the African region.

Despite a mandate to resolve safety-related deficienciesthat threaten the viability of civil aviation, “ICAO andContracting States have struggled to meet the challengesposed by the aviation difficulties in the African region,” theCommission noted in a report presented to the ICAO Councilin late November.

The ANC report on safety and efficiency in the African regionwas based in part on previous findings as well as the team’s18-day visit to organizations and institutions in Kenya, Senegal,South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania last August.The team concluded that the problems facing the regiondemand “a new approach” if ICAO is to fulfil its mandate.

The new approach requires strong political leadership fromICAO, supported by strong programme management and coor-dination, and must involve the regional offices “in a leading rolein the development and implementation of response plans aris-

39154.P26 2/16/07 9:16 AM

ing from the various audit tools in use throughout the region.”Also in need are adequate capital investment, improved sharingof safety-related information, and training for aviation personnelin technical, management and leadership skills.

The Commission offered two specific recommendationsfor ICAO action that could bolster high-level political supportfrom governments in the region for tackling safety and effi-ciency issues. It called for development of an implementationplan that integrates various current safety-related activitiesby mid-2007, noting that such a plan would have to beendorsed by all stakeholders and supported with adequatefunding and staffing. One outcome would be the integrationof ICAO’s regional office activities with its global businessplan, thus positioning the organization’s regional offices asthe primary focal point for ICAO activities.

In the other recommendation, the Commission called forthe convening of a high-level meeting to identify solutions tosafety-related operational oversight and airworthinessissues. While acknowledging that resources for meetingsremain scarce, the Commission recommended that ICAOconduct such a meeting, with the goal of obtaining anendorsement for a comprehensive regional implementationplan, no later than March 2008.

Sustained improvement in the level of flight safety in theAfrican region requires that ICAO play a greater role inaddressing civil aviation issues in Africa, the Commissionconcluded. However, it also noted that enhancement of thisrole would require “a substantial investment of energy andcapital by the organization and both political and financialsupport by Contracting States and other interested organiza-tions over a period of several years.” ■■

ance objectives specific to the particular needs of a State,region, homogeneous ATM area or major traffic flow. A set ofinteractive planning tools, such as software applications andweb-based reporting forms, will assist with the analyticalprocess. Furthermore, the planning framework will serve toensure the integration of the Global Plan and regional plansand associated work programmes.

Currently under development by ICAO is a performancemanual, which will offer guidance on establishing regional per-formance targets associated with 11 key performance areas orexpectations identified in the operational concept. ■■

NUMBER 1, 2007 27

DEPOSIT BY POLAND

Poland deposited its instrument of accession to the Con-vention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Pur-pose of Detection during a brief ceremony at ICAO head-quarters on 26 September 2006, bringing the number ofparties to the Convention, which entered into force in1998, to 129. Shown on the occasion are WlodzimierzZdunowski, Consul General of Poland in Montreal (left),and Denys Wibaux, Director of the ICAO Legal Bureau.

Software tool and websitefacilitate CNS/ATM planningAn interactive software application that enables air navigationservice providers and airspace users to build, evaluate andcompare the economics of alternative options or scenariosfor the implementation of CNS/ATM systems has beenplaced at ICAO’s secure website (http://icaosec.icao.int). Thetool, known as the database and financial analysis computersystem (DFACS), is supported by a user’s manual and anillustrative example. (For more details about the softwareapplication, see “Interactive analytical tool allows users toevaluate CNS/ATM business cases,” ICAO Journal, Issue3/2006, page 19.)

The ICAO Secretariat has also created a new secure web toolto facilitate the establishment of a network of experts in thefields of aviation forecasting and economic analysis. The net-work will make it possible to exchange information needed priorto implementing CNS/ATM systems, such as studies on costeffectiveness, cost-benefit analyses and business cases. It willalso facilitate the sharing of other types of forecasts and eco-nomic analyses and documents. Experts can join the networkby registering at the Civil Aviation Forecasts and EconomicAnalysis website, accessible via the ICAO secure site. ■■

Revised strategic document helpsassure global ATM harmonizationA revised global plan for achieving a seamless air traffic man-agement (ATM) system around the world has been acceptedby the ICAO Council. The renamed document, the Global AirNavigation Plan (Document 9750), describes a strategy aimedat achieving near- and medium-term benefits on the basis ofavailable and foreseen aircraft capabilities and air navigationinfrastructure. Developed in accordance with ICAO’s strategicobjectives, it contains guidance on how to support a uniformtransition to the ATM system envisioned in the operationalconcept endorsed by the 11th Air Navigation Conference in2003. The operational concept, simply put, describes how theemerging and future air navigation system should operate.

One important change reflected in the revised Global Planis the incorporation of relevant material from an industryroadmap that provides a common frame of reference for allpartners involved in enhancing aviation safety and efficiency(for more on the industry developed Safety Roadmap, seethe article on page 26).

Among significant changes in the revised Global Plan,which first appeared in 1993 and remains a “living” docu-ment, is the introduction of a set of 23 Global Plan initiativesthat stem from the industry roadmap. The initiatives areoptions for air navigation system improvements that, onceimplemented, result in direct performance enhancements.States and regions will adopt initiatives that meet perform-

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28 ICAO JOURNAL

The Global Aviation Safety Roadmap formally presented toICAO by the air transport industry on 4 December (see “Industrypresents final part of Safety Roadmap,” page 26) represents “agreat moment in aviation safety,” ICAO Council PresidentRoberto Kobeh González told an audience of civil aviation chiefexecutives at a meeting in Singapore on 11 December 2006.

The development of the roadmap, in consultation withICAO safety specialists, “marks the first time that govern-ments and industry have jointly developed a unified andcoordinated approach to reducing accident rates, particular-ly in developing regions of the world,” the Council Presidentstated. The executives were urged to visit ICAO’s website toreview the newly completed document, developed in accor-dance with ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan.

Noting that the theme of the World Civil Aviation ChiefExecutives Forum held in mid-December highlighted theopportunities and challenges presented by the growth of theindustry, Mr. Kobeh González stressed the importance ofsafety to future economic prosperity. “Our first priority mustcontinue to be the safety of the global air transport system,”he declared, a goal that ICAO takes very seriously. “Theenhancement of aviation safety is enshrined in the aims andobjectives of ICAO and is the first of six strategic objectivescontained in our business plan. It calls upon the organizationto enhance global civil aviation safety through specific meas-ures based on prevention, cooperation and the consistentimplementation of ICAO standards and recommended prac-tices, or SARPs.”

Mr. Kobeh González cited several safety measures that areimportant to implement, among them the uniform and con-sistent application of ICAO SARPs and the establishment ofsafety management systems, the “most effective way ofresponding to the need for results-based supervision with arelatively small workforce.” He also stressed the value of thefree flow of safety-related information “by everyone involved

in air transport, at every level, and across every discipline.”A culture of transparency and the sharing of information

will encourage States to move more quickly to correct safetydeficiencies, and is an essential condition for creating orstrengthening partnerships to resolve deficiencies, essential-ly in the form of regional or subregional safety oversightorganizations, the Council President added.

Aside from safety, Mr. Kobeh González’s keynote addressto the forum, held at the Singapore Aviation Academy on 11-12 December 2006, highlighted the critical issues before theaviation community, among them aviation security, theimpact of aircraft engine emissions, the anticipated shortageof qualified and experienced operating personnel (“already aproblem in many parts of the world, particularly high growthareas”), and the threat posed by avian influenza, to whichICAO has responded by coordinating an international effortto develop guidelines for preparedness planning.

Mr. Kobeh González pointed out that ICAO has just issuedsecurity control guidelines in the wake of the alleged terroristplot to sabotage several airliners over the North Atlantic,unveiled by U.K. authorities in mid-August. The recommend-ed guidelines for screening liquids, gels and aerosol productscarried by passengers are to be implemented no later than 1March 2007.

The impact of aircraft engine emissions “is another veryserious challenge, one that could generate enough publicpressure to halt the growth of air transport,” Mr. KobehGonzález cautioned. Encouragingly, one simple way toreduce aircraft emissions is to implement CNS/ATM systemsthat allow greater utilization of the most fuel-efficient routes.

“Over the past few years, achieving shorter routes has ledto the reduction of millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions,” theCouncil President commented. In 2005, for example, govern-ments worked with the International Air TransportAssociation (IATA) to shorten 300 routes worldwide, he said.As an example of potential benefits, he noted that airspacemanagement improvements in the Pearl River Delta couldsave one million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. But themaximum benefits cannot be achieved without the imple-mentation of a global ATM system that is “based on interop-erability and seamlessness across regions for all users duringall phases of flight.” This is the goal of ICAO’s new Global AirNavigation Plan, which Mr. Kobeh González announced hadjust been approved by the ICAO Council.

The organization “has already integrated this work into itsnew business plan, which stresses the implementation ofharmonized ATM systems and performance-based efficiencyimprovements, as well as increased functional integrationbetween ICAO headquarters and its regional offices,” Mr.Kobeh González added.

More than 80 chief executives from civil aviation authori-ties, airports and air navigation service providers from over50 countries and nine international and regional organiza-tions attended the second triennial World Civil Aviation ChiefExecutives Forum. The two-day event provided industryleaders with a platform for a frank exchange of views, shar-ing of best practices and formulation of strategies to dealwith the fast-growing aviation industry. ■■

First priority must remain safety: Council President

DEPOSIT BY SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa deposited its instrument of ratification of theMontreal Convention of 1999 during a brief ceremony atICAO headquarters on 22 November 2006. Shown on theoccasion are (l-r): Tshepo Peege, Representative of SouthAfrica on the Council of ICAO; ICAO Secretary General Dr.Taïeb Chérif; and Denys Wibaux, Director of the ICAOLegal Bureau.

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NUMBER 1, 2007 29

Preliminary airline traffic results for 2006, released by ICAO inlate December, show a 5 percent annual increase in the totaltonne-kilometres performed by the world’s scheduled airlines (atonne-kilometre is a combined measure of passenger, freight,and mail traffic that takes into account the distance flown).Meanwhile, the total number of passengers grew last year byabout 4 percent to 2.1 billion.

Statistics supplied by ICAO’s 189 Contracting States indicatethat passenger-kilometres performed rose by about 5 percent intotal services (i.e. domestic and international services com-bined) and some 6 percent in international services alone.

During 2006, North American legacy carriers initiated a changein strategy by consolidating and strengthening their internationaloperations, focusing on longer routes. At the same time, theNorth American carriers tightened domestic capacity to achievebetter fleet utilization in response to low-cost competition.

Changes in capacity worldwide were generally in line withtraffic growth, particularly on domestic routes, with the excep-tion of domestic routes in the Asia/Pacific region which showedstrong growth in both capacity and traffic. Total seat-kilometresoffered rose by around 3 percent; international capacity grewmuch more rapidly, at almost 5 percent, while domestic capac-ity, proportionally greater, showed a marginal increase of about1 percent.

Worldwide passenger-kilometres performed increased morerapidly than capacity. The average passenger load factor ontotal and international services reached almost 76 percent, up

from around 75 percent in 2005. A similar load factor of around76 percent was recorded on domestic services, compared tounder 75 percent in 2005.

In 2006, total scheduled freight traffic showed growth ofaround 3 percent over 2005. Domestic traffic grew more rapid-ly, at around 5 percent, while international traffic increased byabout 3 percent. Freight tonnes carried worldwide on scheduledservices rose to around 39 million tonnes compared with about38 million tonnes in 2005.

On a regional basis, strong traffic growth in terms of totaltonne-kilometres performed continued to be experienced byairlines in the Middle East, followed by those in the Asia/Pacificregion and Africa. Growth for airlines in North America, Europeand Latin America were below the world average, mainlybecause of a more measured deployment of capacity, someroute rationalization and changes in the route mix introduced bycarriers of the North American and European regions.

A more detailed comparison of scheduled airline traffic in2006 and 2005 appears on page 5. ■■

Scheduled airline traffic up by 5 percent in 2006

Forthcoming articlesAmong feature articles to appear in ICAO Journal Issue2/2007 will be a report on further changes to the air cargosecurity programme in the United Kingdom, and a look athow safety data can be integrated to better understand therisk to flight safety. ■■

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30 ICAO JOURNAL

DEPOSIT BY COSTA RICA

Costa Rica deposited its instrument of ratification of theProtocol introducing Article 83 bis to the Chicago Con-vention (1980) during a brief ceremony at ICAO headquar-ters on 1 February 2007. The Protocol, in force since1997, concerns the lease, charter or interchange of air-craft. Shown on the occasion are Paola Patricia PorrasPastrán, Consul of Costa Rica in Montreal, and DenysWibaux, Director of the ICAO Legal Bureau.

Honorary title bestowedDr. Assad Kotaite, who retired last year after serving asPresident of the ICAO Council from 1976, has beenbestowed with the lifetime honorary title of PresidentEmeritus of the Council of ICAO, upon the unanimous adop-tion of a Council resolution on 7 December 2006, the anniver-sary of the signing of the Chicago Convention and, since1994, the date celebrated each year as International CivilAviation Day. ■■

Commemorative day putsspotlight on top priorityInternational Civil Aviation Day, celebrated annually since1994 to mark the creation of ICAO on 7 December 1944,focused in 2006 on the theme of safety and security.

“The theme of the 2006 International Civil Aviation Day,“Safety and security – first and always the top priority,” paystribute to the men and women of aviation who protect thewell being of billions of passengers who travel the skies ofthe world for pleasure or business,” ICAO Council PresidentRoberto Kobeh González and ICAO Secretary General Dr.Taïeb Chérif said in a joint statement. “It also recognizes theunderstanding and cooperation of air travellers for the meas-ures put in place to ensure their safety at all times.”

A brief description of International Civil Aviation Day, newsreleases as well as messages from the Council President andSecretary General from previous celebrations, can be viewedat the ICAO website (www.icao.int). ■■

PANS-OPS amendmentsreceive approvalVolumes I and II of the Procedures for Air Navigation Services– Aircraft Operations (PANS-OPS, Document 8168) havebeen amended with the objective of improving flight safety,following approval of the changes by the ICAO Air NavigationCommission in early December. The amendments, incorpo-rated in the fifth edition of the ICAO document, becomeapplicable on 15 March 2007.

Among other things, Amendment 15 to Volume I, FlightProcedures, provides pilots and operators with guidance onapproach procedures that involve vertical guidance (APV) forsatellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) operations. Theamendment also introduces procedures and guidance foravoiding runway nominations when the preferential runwaycould pose an operational hazard, and it clarifies the role of flightcrew in the operation of the airborne collision avoidance system(ACAS) and in responding to its associated advisories.

Amendment 14 to Volume II, Construction of Visual andInstrument Flight Procedures, improves efforts to prevent con-trolled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents by providingapproach designers with new criteria, as well as improvingexisting criteria. Key new provisions introduced in this amend-ment lay the foundation for implementation of performance-based navigation (PBN) by addressing quality assurance in theprocedure design process. Because PBN flight proceduresrely on the onboard database for navigation information, it hasbecome increasingly important to ensure that the quality of theprocedure is maintained at every step of the process.Additional significant provisions include detailed guidance oncoding of procedures for use in databases, construction crite-ria and associated charting provisions for design of SBAS APVapproaches and, in recognition of the proven performance ofbasic GNSS operations, reduced obstacle protection areas forthe design of basic GNSS approaches. ■■

Aviation language symposiumto be held in May 2007A three-day symposium on ICAO language proficiencyrequirements will take place at ICAO headquarters, Montreal,during 7-9 May 2007. The symposium will focus on how toimplement the aviation language proficiency requirements foraviation personnel that take effect in 2008, and is designedfor all stakeholders, including managers from government,airlines and air traffic services providers as well as trainingorganizations.

Since September 2004, when ICAO conducted its firstsymposium on the subject of aviation language, the languagetraining and testing community has developed a wide rangeof training and testing solutions, and it is now consideredtimely to draw on lessons learned and establish an imple-mentation plan for what remains to be done.

The first objective of the forthcoming symposium is to pres-ent implementation models that support quality aviation lan-guage training and testing. The symposium will also provideparticipants with tools to develop implementation plans withintheir respective organizations. In addition, the meeting will fea-ture panel sessions on different aspects of language training,specifically training, testing and maintaining operations; lan-guage tests for licensing; and resource-sharing initiatives.

Further information related to the symposium, includingthe agenda and call for papers, may be obtained at the ICAOwebsite (www.icao.int/ials2). ICAO Journal Issue 4/2007, toappear in mid-August, will focus on the implementation oflanguage proficiency requirements. ■■

These are testing times. Only the leanest and fittest survive. Morethan ever, an airline’s future depends on the cost-effectiveness of itsoperations. Your engines are an important part of that equation. That’swhy CFM invests extensively in a long-term program of innovationsto improve performance. Our Tech Insertion program, for example,offers airlines a reduction in operating costs of up to 20%, whilstreducing emissions and increasing EGT margin. To find out moreabout the engines that are constantly evolving, fly to www.cfm56.com

CFM International is a joint company of Snecma, France and General Electric Company, U.S.A.

IF YOU STOP EVOLVING

YOU STOP FLYING.

39154.P30 2/16/07 9:16 AM

These are testing times. Only the leanest and fittest survive. Morethan ever, an airline’s future depends on the cost-effectiveness of itsoperations. Your engines are an important part of that equation. That’swhy CFM invests extensively in a long-term program of innovationsto improve performance. Our Tech Insertion program, for example,offers airlines a reduction in operating costs of up to 20%, whilstreducing emissions and increasing EGT margin. To find out moreabout the engines that are constantly evolving, fly to www.cfm56.com

CFM International is a joint company of Snecma, France and General Electric Company, U.S.A.

IF YOU STOP EVOLVING

YOU STOP FLYING.

39154.P31 2/15/07 7:22 AM

the Ethiopian CAA, which underwent significant structuralchanges during his tenure.

Mr. Mekonnen has completed various training programmesand courses involving aviation statistics, economics andICAO familiarization. He was a member of his country’s dele-gation to the 35th Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2004.

Mr. Mekonnen served as Vice-President of the interim AirTransport Regulatory Board of the Common Market for Easternand Southern Africa (COMESA), and has also been a Vice-President of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC).Most recently, he served as Director of the newly restructuredEthiopian Civil Aviation Training Centre in Addis Ababa. ■■

32 ICAO JOURNAL

ICAO Council appointmentTefera Mekonnen has been appointedas the Representative of Ethiopia onthe Council of ICAO. Mr. Mekonnen’sappointment took effect on 26October 2006.

An air traffic controller who laterheld increasingly responsible man-agement positions within theEthiopian Civil Aviation Authority(CAA), Mr. Mekonnen holds a bache-lor’s degree in economics. He com-menced his aviation career in 1980

upon graduating from the Ethiopian Civil Aviation TrainingInstitute. After serving for eight years as an air traffic con-troller at the Addis Ababa International Airport and AreaControl Centre, he was appointed as a planning officer atCAA headquarters, performing a management and planningrole during a period of airport and air navigation infrastructuredevelopment and expansion in the country.

In 1995, Mr. Mekonnen was appointed Head of thePlanning and Air Transport Services Department, and wasresponsible for the coordination and implementation of proj-ects and studies funded by ICAO, the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) and African DevelopmentBank (ADB). In this capacity, he was also responsible for theeconomic regulation of air transport services.

In 2002, Mr. Mekonnen was appointed Director General of

T. Mekonnen(Ethiopia)

Annex amendment concernedwith passenger healthICAO Council adopted an amendment to ICAO Annex 9,Facilitation, in late November concerned with protecting thehealth of passengers and crews. Amendment 20 will becomeapplicable on 15 July 2007.

The new amendment strengthens the provisions con-cerned with protecting passenger and crew health and pre-vention of the spread of communicable disease throughinternational travel. It contains new and revised standardsand recommended practices (SARPs) that address States’contingency plans for dealing with a health-related crisisinvolving international air transport. ■■

Tabletop exercise highlights issuesrelated to bioterrorism threatICAO and several other organizations participated in a first-ever bioterrorism international coordination exercise (“BlackICE”) hosted by the United States and Switzerland in earlySeptember. The tabletop exercise, conducted over two daysin Montreux, Switzerland, involved delegations from 12 inter-national organizations and relied on a fictional bioterrorismattack to drive group discussion. After the exercise, organiz-ers released a report containing several recommendations,among them a call for States to bolster their preparedness fora bioterrorism event. (The event took its unusual name fromthe extremely hazardous but hard-to-detect black ice foundon roadways in colder climates, since a bioterrorism attackmay also be difficult to detect and may, in early stages,appear to be merely a manageable, naturally occurring dis-ease outbreak.)

Black ICE provided a forum for exploring the roles, respon-sibilities and capabilities of international organizations inpreparing for, and responding to, a bioterrorism event. Itincreased awareness of the international community’s abilityto respond to such an event, and identified key challenges ina coordinated international response. Discussions under-scored the need to explore further how best to coordinateinternational response and recovery efforts, and provided anopportunity to explore areas for greater synergy.

The scenario created for the tabletop exercise consisted ofa team of terrorists who infect themselves with smallpox(obtained from an unknown source) and then exploit air trans-port as a means of spreading the contagion. The attackerscontinue to expose as many people as possible by circulating

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extensively among holiday celebrants at their destination.After a time, governments and public health systems areoverwhelmed and cannot meet demands for medicine andhumanitarian support. Fictional news broadcasts enhancedthe realism of the exercise, which consisted primarily of dis-cussions and thought-provoking questions from a facilitatorpertaining to an international response to a bioterrorist attack.

Funded through a strategic public-private and internationalpartnership, the exercise was intended to build bridges betweenorganizations while simultaneously highlighting critical gaps ininternational counterterrorism coordination and response plan-ning for a bioterrorism attack. Among the issues identified werethe need for international response coordination authority, effi-cient sharing of resources and coordination with national govern-ments and regional entities, as well as the challenges posed bycompeting priorities. The exercise indicated clear divergencesbetween those working in the areas of security and public health,highlighting the need for greater multi-sectoral internationalengagement in combating bioterrorism. Participants endorsedplans to further explore these and other issues in a series of twofollow-up exercises that Interpol has offered to host. nn

NUMBER 1, 2007 33

COST RECOVERY WORKSHOP

A workshop on cost recovery in the field of aeronauticalmeteorology, organized jointly by the World Meteorologi-cal Organization (WMO) and ICAO for States in theCaribbean, Central and South American region, was heldin Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on 14-15 Decem-ber 2006. The event was held back-to-back with anotherworkshop on MET quality management held on 11-13December. Fifty participants, including officials from bothnational meteorological departments and civil aviationadministrations of 17 member States, participated in thecombined workshops.

List of invitees growsThe list of international organizations that are invited toattend relevant ICAO meetings was expanded in November2006 to include several more intergovernmental organiza-tions, specifically the African Civil Aviation Commission(AFCAC), the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), theLatin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC) and theAfrican Union (AU). Also added to the list was one non-gov-ernmental organization, the Civil Air Navigation ServicesOrganisation (CANSO). nn

Runway safetycontinued from page 10

avoided through the use of current technology only after sev-eral steps transpire. First, the system must detect the conflictresulting from the incursion, and then relay the alert to thecontroller, whose attention may be elsewhere on themanoeuvring area and who may be in the midst of passinginstructions to other aircraft. Next, the controller must notethe alert, assimilate the information, decide on the bestcourse of action to resolve the conflict, and communicate thisto the pilot (provided the frequency is available). Finally, thepilot needs to hear the instruction and react to it while doingother things.

To overcome the drawbacks of existing technologies, a sys-tem that would function like a ground-based airborne collisionavoidance system (ACAS) should be developed. By providing agraphical display to pilots of their position on the aerodrome,together with that of other nearby aircraft, such a system couldstop pilots from entering active runways even when they thinkthey have an ATC clearance, because the position and intentionof other aircraft would be evident from the display.Furthermore, if a dangerous situation were to develop, immedi-ate action could be taken by the pilots because they would becontinuously aware of all relevant information.

Clearly, there is a long way to go in the development of thisparticular technology, but its availability would certainly pro-vide the ultimate safety enhancement, in the same way thatACAS has done for aircraft in the sky.

Addressing human factors. Most of the work on runway incur-sion prevention has been focused on systemic improvement,which has produced some very positive results. There remainsan outstanding area that needs action — human factors issues.

The types of incidents that are the most difficult to addressseem to be the result of a lapse of memory. For example, fromtime to time an aircraft is instructed to hold short of a runway,and although the instruction is acknowledged by the flightcrew, the aircraft inexplicably proceeds to cross the runway ashort time later. Or a controller will clear an aircraft to take-off,and a few seconds later the same controller will clear anotheraircraft to cross the same runway. These kinds of incidents,while infrequent, continue to occur and will be very difficult toresolve. While viable solutions have yet to be found, safetyefforts to date clearly point to the need to focus on the role ofhuman factors in runway incursions.

Taking stock. The European initiative to prevent runway incur-sions has raised awareness of a serious issue, and there is now aclear indication of the real numbers of incursions taking place.

The fact that the reporting of incursions has been encour-aged could account for a significant increase in the number ofincursions in Eurocontrol’s latest data, as shown in Figure 1(page 10). At the same time, there would appear to be a signif-icant reduction in the more serious incursions classified as Aor B, an assessment supported by feedback from individualairports (Figure 2).

Meanwhile, Eurocontrol will continue its effective partner-ship with airlines, pilot associations, airport operators and ATCorganizations both at the European level and at each airport. Itis only through this approach that the difficult and complexproblem of runway incursions can finally be solved. nn

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34 ICAO JOURNAL

Variance analysiscontinued from page 20

decisions affecting traffic growth. If certain fares are reducedon a particular route to stimulate traffic, there should be morethan a commensurate increase in passenger traffic to compen-sate for a decline in yields. The net differential between vari-ances in revenues related to yields and traffic, as outlinedabove, should register positively on route revenues and faretype/class of service, failing which management must considermeans other than dropping yields to stimulate traffic on theroute concerned.

Where the impact is positive, success might be explained bylower fares (yields) or other measures such as schedulingchanges and more effective product promotion. Regardless ofthe result, understanding how much of the traffic growthstemmed from yield variances will help management determinethe need to focus on other measures such as better scheduling,market differentiation and fare type.

The number of passengers choosing a higher fare class mayincrease due to better product or service differentiation. In thiscase, cost variance analysis can tell management how muchextra cost was incurred to provide improved service and, moreimportantly, whether the traffic growth at the higher fare classjustifies the additional cost.

Another example is where the airline has introduced faretypes to optimize market segmentation. Variances in traffic fordifferent fare types in a particular class, and cross-verification

with yield variance and cost variance related to each fare type,can reveal the net impact on the airline’s revenues. Such dataindicate to management whether its efforts to introduce newfare types with varying travel restrictions are bearing results,increasing net revenues through the improved segmentation ofthe market by the carrier.

Cost analysis. Variance analysis of operating costs is essen-tial to not only identify potential areas of cost control, but alsoto ensure that costs incurred to generate traffic are deliveringresults. To perform this analysis, operating cost variancesshould be looked at in tandem with the variances on the rev-enue side.

For expenditures such as fuel, landing fees, passengeramenities and so on, the variances can be broken down intothree broad types involving exchange variances, changes in theunit rates (i.e. price) and units (i.e. quantity consumed), andchanges in capacity offered.

As with revenues, an airline’s operating costs involve variouscurrencies. However, unlike foreign currency assets and liabil-ities, where a restatement helps the airline to automaticallydetermine the exchange gain or loss to be reflected in theincome statement, no such exercise is usually carried out forexpenditures. As such, the impact on the bottom line due toexchange variances in cost items is masked. It is essentialtherefore for the airline accounting process to highlight the for-eign currency payment schedule and the currencies involvedso as to determine the gain or loss related to exchange rate vari-ances for a specified period. If such analysis determines thatthe impact on the airline’s financial results is indeed significant,or has the potential to become so, exchange risk managementbecomes essential.

Variance in operating costs due to changes in unit rates andunits is calculated with capacity offered at equivalent levels forthe compared time periods. An increase in unit rates is justifi-able in some cases; to give one example, a desired schedulingchange that necessitates a landing during peak hours willincrease the unit rate for landing fees. In cases where theincrease in unit rates cannot be justified, this needs to be inves-tigated, with market rates in mind and, if possible, renegotiated,especially when the rates are not in line with increases soughtby the vendor.

A material increase in units consumed, where capacity isunchanged from the previous period, may indicate potentialwastage, unless this consumption can be justified. Similarly,improved unit quality and the resultant higher costs have to bejustified by an increase in traffic and cross-verification againstthe revenue traffic variance analysis. The net impact of anincrease in revenues due to traffic and a rise in costs related toservice improvements should be positive, otherwise the feasi-bility of continuing to incur higher costs has to be looked into.For other cases involving higher unit consumption wherecapacity offered is constant, the same analysis is needed to pre-vent wastage and maximize cost-control initiatives.

Changes in capacity offered by the airline, either because ofchanges in frequencies or aircraft types during the period ofcomparison, will result in variances in operating costs. Thesewill have to be looked at jointly with revenue variances stem-ming from changes in traffic, together with capacity offered, todetermine whether the airline has gained financially as a resultof changes in capacity.

39154.P34 2/15/07 7:23 AM

NUMBER 1, 2007 35

Integrated information systemcontinued from page 16

required because a system of statistical information should notbe closed, but needs to interrelate with other systems and haveits degree of influence or dependence assessed. This interrela-tionship is established through parallel, supra and complemen-tary systems.

Parallel systems. The importance of a company is most evi-dent when its performance is compared with others in the samefield. Similarly, by using standardized statistical data such asthat collected by ICAO, the development of a country’s aviationindustry can also be measured in relation to aviation in othercountries. This requires comparable indicators which havebeen constructed within known generalized parameters, sincean indicator which cannot be compared serves no purpose.

Suprasystems. The aviation sector generates wealth and ispart of a national economy and, ultimately, of the world econo-my. Its contribution to these two larger economic systemsshould be understood and compared using either the econom-ic indicators of the larger system or of the ultimate objective,the quality of life.

Complementary systems. Complementary systems concerneconomic components affecting the aviation industry, such asthe price of fuel and the cost of insurance, to name two factorshaving the greatest influence in recent years. Similarly, the serv-ices of the aviation industry are a part of other industries such as,in Colombia’s case, tourism and the export of perishable flowers.Complementary information allows a company to increase pro-ductivity by facilitating access to the best data available.

The integrated aviation statistical system described abovecan be used by States in the economic oversight of their airtransport system. By including data from all the stakeholders ina single system, planners at both government and industry lev-els are able to monitor the capacity of the air transport systemas a whole against actual requirements, and make informedeconomic decisions as to when any individual element of thesystem may need to be modified to meet the expected higherdemand. Analyses of comprehensive data may indicate theneed for longer or new runways, enlarged or new terminals, oradditional or new air traffic control (ATC) equipment.

Summary. Systematic variance analysis helps an airline toidentify whether decisions taken with the intent of increasingrevenue traffic are achieving the desired results. If not, suchanalysis helps identify areas that call for attention.

On the operating cost side of the ledger, variance analysishelps the airline exercise cost control, and provides manage-ment with a true picture of the cost of efforts to increase rev-enue traffic and profitability. Finally, variance analysis is a goodplatform for keeping track of exchange variances and managingexchange-related risks.

While all airlines practice some form of revenue analysis, thelevel of detail and amount of investment in information technol-ogy depends on the size of the airline and the complexity ofdaily transactions. A well-planned variance analysis couldensure management has the right information streams to makedecisions that enhance the airline’s competitiveness and prof-itability in these times of excess capacity, pressure on yields andrising costs. nn

The traffic and service quality data collected by an integratedsystem also assist the nationally based carriers to monitor thedemand for air services to foreign destinations as well as theircompetitiveness with respect to foreign carriers. Moreover,such a statistical system can provide a civil aviation administra-tion with the economic data needed to substantiate the case foradditional funding from a central government or financial insti-tution despite competition for development funds with othersectors within the country or region. nn

Statistical databasescontinued from page 18

For ATS purposes, aircraft are grouped in terms of certainperformance characteristics such as similar rate of climb anddescent, wake dissipation, and so forth. However, for economicanalyses, the main criteria are payload capacity and composi-tion (i.e. passengers and/or cargo). Aircraft performance isalso important, but mainly in relation to average stage length,block speed and annual aircraft utilization.

IATA has its own aircraft type codes. Its system is moreappropriate for use in economic analyses, but in some cases isnot very precise, particularly with subtypes, as these may onlyacquire a new code when there is a sufficient number of sub-types in service to warrant such a change.

With respect to aircraft types, there is no simple solution.Any entity starting a new database would do well to acquaintitself with the standard adopted jointly by the CommercialAviation Safety Team (CAST) and ICAO (http://www.intlaviationstandards.org/). The level of detail that one may want touse will depend on how the data are to be used. Often it mightbe sufficient to limit the designator to the master series (e.g.Boeing 777-200), as described at the CAST/ICAO website.

One important recommendation made by CAST/ICAO is touse the same designator assigned by the aircraft’s manufactur-er. With this approach, database managers may wish to add anextra field for the aircraft designator to indicate the nature ofthe payload, as this information — passenger, combi or all-cargo — is not always obvious from the manufacturer’s desig-nation. For example, while many all-cargo aircraft have a letterF in the designator, this is not always the case.

ICAO solution. It is clear from the above review of existingoperational codes that, while it may be tempting to make use ofICAO or IATA operational codes for statistical purposes simply

ICAO JOURNAL WEB PAGEGo to ICAO’s website to peruse back issues of ICAO Journal,

take out a subscription online, or obtain information about

advertising in ICAO’s magazine. ICAO Journal is distributed to

civil aviation administrations in 189 Contracting States and to

over 1,200 airlines worldwide.

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36 ICAO JOURNAL

Incident reportcontinued from page 13

• The pilots correctly determined the aircraft’s take-off per-formance for a take-off from Runway 06L had it been at fulllength, but this calculation was incorrect at its reduced length.• The pilots had no means of determining take-off performancefor the aircraft from Runway 06L at reduced length.• The aircraft was more than nine tonnes overweight to con-duct a reduced thrust take-off from the reduced runway lengthavailable.• The taxiing instructions issued to the flight crew byManchester ATC did not include a specific holding point.• The version of the Manual of Air Traffic Services (MATS),Part 1, current at the time of the incident did not require a spe-cific holding point to be included in taxiing instructions.• Radio communications between Manchester ATC and theflight crew regarding the lining up point on Runway 06L weremisinterpreted by both parties.• The aircraft was lined up on Runway 06L via holding point AGusing a non-standard technique.• The pilots used a non-standard technique to set take-offpower at the commencement of the take-off roll.• Seven vehicles associated with the work-in-progress were onRunway 06L at the time of take-off; closest to the aircraft’s pointof rotation was a rubber-removal vehicle with a height of 14feet.• The pilots only became aware of the presence of vehicles asthey crested the rise in the runway just prior to the aircraftattaining rotation speed, Vr .• The aircraft was rotated at the pilots’ calculated Vr speed.• After becoming airborne, the aircraft passed within 56 feet ofthe vehicle.• The pilots did not believe they had been involved in a seriousincident and so did not make a report to their company, theCAA or the AAIB.• Both MA plc and Manchester ATC senior management weremade aware of the incident on the day of its occurrence, but didnot necessarily appreciate its true significance at the time.• The incident was witnessed by some ATC and airport opera-tions staff.• No report was made by any members of MA plc orManchester ATC immediately following the incident.• The incident was reported seven days after its occurrence tothe AAIB by NATS on receipt of a report by Manchester ATC.

Causal factors. The crew of G-XLAG did not realize thatRunway 06L was operating at reduced length due to work-in-progress at its far end, until their aircraft had accelerated to a

because these systems already exist, this approach should beavoided. At a minimum, before adopting an existing coding sys-tem, database administrators would be well advised to considerthe system’s primary purpose and should not take for grantedthat it will meet statistical requirements.

During the design of a new aviation statistics database thatICAO deployed in 2002, the issues posed by operational codeshad to be addressed. While it may not be desirable, nonethelessstatistical data received from States, air carriers, airports andair navigation service providers regularly make use of theICAO or IATA operational codes. Since such codes are not use-ful for identifying historical records, the new ICAO integratedstatistical database (ISDB) reference files for air carriers andairports allow both the ICAO and IATA codes (where theseexist) to be entered, but also employs a unique, permanentmachine-generated code for record identification. For air carri-ers in particular, the use of the machine-generated code hasallowed ICAO to recognize over time a continuous data seriesfor a specific air carrier regardless of how many times it

Council appoints ANC PresidentBjørn Ramfjord, of Norway, has beenappointed President of the ICAO AirNavigation Commission (ANC) for a peri-od of one year commencing 1 January2007. Mr. Ramfjord has been a memberof the ANC since May 2005.

An air traffic controller with man-agement and business experience,Mr. Ramfjord served with theNorwegian Civil Aviation Authority(CAA) for a period of five years before

becoming a Commissioner. His activities included chairman-ship of various working groups, including a group responsi-ble for implementing reduced vertical separation minimum(RVSM) operations in Norway. Mr. Ramfjord was involved inauditing of air traffic services (ATS) units in Norway, and alsoplayed a role in implementing new noise abatement proce-dures for Oslo’s Fornebu Airport.

Mr. Ramfjord obtained his controller’s licence in 1971. Afterserving for a few years at different control towers and gainingexperience at Tower, Approach and Radar Approach posi-tions, he became the Training Manager at Fornebu ControlTower. He was appointed Chief Air Traffic Controller of theFornebu Tower in 1991, and served as Head of Air TrafficControl (ATC) at the airport from 1993 to 1996.

In addition to training as a controller in both Norway andthe United Kingdom, Mr. Ramfjord completed a businessadministration programme at the Norwegian School ofManagement in Oslo. He has experience as a consultant inthe ATC field, collaborating with industry to develop anadvanced ground movement guidance and control system.His consultancy work has included training of controllers inAustralia, China (Hong Kong) and Malaysia.

Mr. Ramfjord has been a member of several Eurocontrolteams, among them a licensing review group concerned withthe implementation of controller licensing in the 42 memberStates of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC). nn

Bjørn Ramfjord

changed name or ICAO/IATA codes.As explained above, the use of some of the location indicators

and air carrier three-letter codes issued by ICAO is beingextended into areas for which these were not necessarily intend-ed. In some cases, the initial intent to limit their application tointernational operations is being overridden by usage. The timemay be right to formally review the purpose and popular usageof the codes to determine whether this would merit a properlyplanned extension to all activities. As a plus, such clarificationmight also bring some order to how States issue location indica-tors or request three-letter codes from ICAO. nn

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NUMBER 1, 2007 37

Airport securitycontinued from page 25

screening is performed on high-speed x-ray equipment with anautomatic explosives diagnostics function capable of rejecting20 percent of the baggage and directing it for additional screen-ing. The rejected bags are then screened on a computer tomo-graph. Finally, bags are searched by hand, if the computertomograph confirms the presence of explosives.

Unannounced inspections are used to assess the currentsecurity level at airports and airlines in Russia, and securitydrills and exercises aimed at the suppression of terrorism andother acts of unlawful interference at airports and civil aviationenterprises will continue to be conducted on a timely basis. nn

Invasive alien speciescontinued from page 23

species, including a 2002 decision that contained guiding prin-ciples for the prevention, introduction and mitigation of impactsof alien species that threaten ecosystems, habitats or species.Through experience, it has become clear that prevention ismuch more effective and usually considerably more cost-effi-cient than efforts to control or eradicate invasive alien species.

The parties to the CBD, at their 8th Conference (COP-8) inMarch 2006, welcomed ICAO Assembly Resolution A35-19 andsuggested that ICAO address the issue of invasive alien speciesas a matter of urgency. Furthermore, the parties encouragedICAO to coordinate with other relevant bodies, including theCBD, and requested that the CBD support any efforts to devel-op guidelines or standards as a result of the ICAO Assemblyresolution.

The parties to the CBD have identified tourism as a particu-lar pathway for invasive alien species — one that has obviouslinks to civil aviation. This has encouraged the World TourismOrganization, IATA, and other relevant international organiza-tions to promote public awareness of the role of tourism as apathway for the introduction and spread of invasive alienspecies. One way to educate the public in this regard is throughthe development of codes of practice.

In addressing civil aviation as a pathway for invasive alienspecies, COP-8 also encouraged CBD parties and other govern-ments to promote collaboration among their relevant agenciesresponsible for dealing with invasive alien species and/or civilair transport, with the goal of raising all relevant issues throughnational participation in ICAO.

Such inter-agency cooperation at the national level is criticalto addressing the problem of invasive alien species effectively.In other fora, governments have also recognized the impor-

tance of inter-agency collaboration. The governing body of theInternational Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), for example,recommended in 2005 that contracting parties and nationalplant protection organizations enhance linkages between envi-ronmental, plant protection and agricultural authorities andrelated ministries, and improve communication between CBDfocal points and IPPC contact points.

In summary, clearly, civil air transport provides an importantpathway for the introduction of invasive alien species, and onethat requires further attention at the international level.Governments have shown their commitment to addressing theissue. Development of international guidelines, and possiblystandards and recommended practices under the auspices ofICAO, will be an important step forward. The CBD Secretariatwill work closely with ICAO, GISP and other relevant organiza-tions in this regard. The issue of invasive alien species will bereviewed in depth by the 9th Conference of the Parties to theCBD in 2008, and progress in mitigating civil aviation’s role intransporting invasive alien species will be an important aspectof this review. nn

speed approaching the rotation speed, despite:• being in possession of a NOTAM concerning the work-in-progress;• tuning into the ATIS broadcast relating to the work-in-progress; and• receiving information from ATC on the take-off distanceavailable.

At this point, the aircraft was approaching seven vehicles onthe runway and was at a position which precluded an abortwithin the useable runway length remaining.

Safety recommendations. The serious incident which trig-gered this investigation resulted from a non-adherence toestablished procedures by the flight crew, rather than a failingin the procedures themselves. The operator took early andappropriate action to prevent a reoccurrence by the crewinvolved.

In investigating the event involving G-XLAG, the planningand management of the rubber-removal operation by MA plcand NATS Manchester raised additional concerns. They, too,largely centre on non-adherence to established procedures.Since the event, both these organizations have taken consider-able action and, as a result, the majority of the issues identifiedin the report have now been resolved.

The report contains six safety recommendations calling forfurther action to be taken to ensure runway safety. nn

ICAO MEETINGSCAR/SAM Regional Planning and ImplementationGroup (GREPECAS/14)15-20 April 2007, Costa Rica

ICAO Aviation Language Symposium (IALS/2) *7-9 May 2007, Montreal

Aeronautical Communications Panel (ACP/1) *10-18 May 2007, Montreal

Colloquium on Aviation Emissions14-16 May 2007, Montreal

Legal Committee (LC/33) *26 June – 6 July 2007, Montreal

Airport Economics Panel (AEP/6) *10-14 September 2007, Montreal

ICAO Assembly 36th Session (A36)18-28 September 2007, Montreal

Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP/21) *5-16 November 2007, Montreal

* Dates to be confirmed

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