UN assembly for aviation begins in Montreal

UN assembly for aviation begins in Montreal

By Alex Macheras

ICAO’s UN General Assembly is now in full swing, beginning this week in Montreal, Canada. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is a specialist agency of the United Nations set up to define international safety, environmental and operating standards for commercial aviation. Currently more than 190 countries are members, and aviation rules in each of these follow ICAO standards and recommended practices.

The Minister of Transport for the State of Qatar, HE Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti, addressed the UN with a keynote speech on the recent successes of Qatar’s aviation sector. “Today’s gathering of representatives from around the world follows the greatest challenge our industry, and our world, has ever faced, the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to ICAO’s vigorous efforts, and a global vaccine rollout, the industry is now in a place where it can recover and return to pre-pandemic levels”, HE al-Sulaiti explained.

“Like other airlines, Qatar’s national airline Qatar Airways faced an unprecedented challenge at the beginning of the pandemic…but our global airline was determined to be there for the world when the world needed us the most. We safely transported more than 3 million passengers, reuniting families, and enabling passengers to return home during a