INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION
Did you know that...• Last year, aeroplanes carried 1.3 billion passengers, or more than the whole population of China.
• Ten years from now, the yearly number of airline passengers will increase to 2 billion people, or a fourth of the world's population.
• In 1996, 1,135 people died in accidents involving airliners.
• The airline industry's annual turnover is estimated at $282 billion, or $220 per passenger.Fasten your seatbelts!
Clara Weiman is a stewardess. Her plane has just taken off from Berlin for Cape Town.
"This is Ms. Weiman speaking. Can I please have your attention for a few minutes, as the crew reviews a few safety measures. In case of loss of oxygen in the cabin, the oxygen masks will fall automatically . . . Life jackets are located under your seats . . . It is strictly forbidden to smoke in the aisles as well as in the lavatories . . . For your comfort and security, we recommend that you keep your seatbelts fastened for the duration of the trip. Please read the manual in the seatpocket in front of you, which describes all safety features. Thank you for your attention!"
ICAO is the world body which ensures safety standardization on the global level (its member countries number 185, virtually all the countries of the world.) ICAO has adopted international standards and recommended practices which specify the design and performance of aircraft and much of their equipment. Those standards also govern the performance of airline pilots, flight crews, air traffic controllers and ground and maintenance crews.
A risky trip?
Francis Martin retired last year. He and his wife are about to take their long-awaited trip to several countries. They are concerned about the levels of safety in these foreign lands.
"One reads some very frightening stories about air travel abroad these days. Whether it's in North America, Africa or Asia, there seem to be an increasing number of airplane accidents. I mean, statistically I know it's supposed to be the safest mode of transport, but who ensures that the safety levels are the same wherever you travel?"
Through its Safety Oversight Programme, technical experts from ICAO have conducted over 55 inspections of various countries' civil aviation operations. The results of these audits are given to the respective civil aviation authorities and include specific recommendations and proposals for improvement of operations to ensure the highest level of safety standardization.
open it. In fact, you found out that the suspicious thing was nothing else than my razor, which you confiscated, and which I have to claim upon arrival. Now you're asking me whether I packed my suitcase myself? Well, no, I didn't! My wife did, actually! What is this all about? Do I look like a terrorist?"
I am not a terrorist Mr. Rajeev Subramanian is a businessman, trying to board his flight from New Delhi to Bangkok.
"First, I went through the metal detector, which beeped, so I was frisked. You have just x-rayed my suitcase. You saw something suspicious, and I had to
Despite the inconvenience which safety measures prescribed by ICAO at airports may cause to travelers, they are indispensable precautions to ensure that no terrorist boards airliners.
ICAO in brief
ICAO was established in 1947. Its main objectives are to:
• Ensure the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation;
• Encourage the design and operation of aircraft for peaceful purposes;
• Support the development of airways, airports and air navigation facilities for civil aviation;
• Meet the needs of the international public for safe, regular, efficient and economical air transport.International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
999 University Street
Montreal
Quebec H3C 5H7
Canada
Tel.: (1-514) 954 8219
Website: http://www.icao.int/
E-mail: icaohq@icao.org
