Vanuatu represents Pacific requests ICAO Regional Sub Office

Vanuatu has represented the Pacific at the 39th General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada

and requested ICAO consider establishing a Regional Sub Office in the Pacific.

Bakoa Kaltongga, Chief Delegate of the Republic of Vanuatu at the Assembly, received the honor to present the request by Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, Tonga and Vanuatu during Agenda Item 28 titled: No Country Left Behind Initiative.

“I am tabling a paper to propose to International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) to set up a Regional Sub Office in the Pacific so as to assist Pacific Island countries directly in to meeting compliance requirements with ICAO’s standard safety and Recommended Practices,” Kaltongga who is also First Political Advisor to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities says in an email to the Daily Post.

“This request is especially important since numerous Pacific Countries are embarking on major airport developments that will give them Long haul capabilities to Asia and the American Continent. We lack the expertise and experience to handle these operations and need input directly from ICAO and not through second parties.”

“The APAC region experiences the most extreme diversity in the scale, capacity, security, safety, compliance and volume of security operations of all ICAO regions due to lack of better harmonization.

“Recent Effective Implementation (EIs) indicators show there is a wide discrepancy between Asian and Pacific countries.”

“The current ICAO Safety Audit Compliance Average is 63 %. Whereas 41 % of Asian countries are below the ICAO Average, 84 % of Pacific states are well below the ICAO average.

“Asia’s Country Compliance Average is 68 %, 5 % higher than the ICAO Average, whereas the Pacific Countries’ Compliance Average is 43 % which is 20 % below ICAO’s average,” the statement says.

“So Mr President, it has become quite evident not even the best efforts of Regional Working Groups nor ICAO’s Regional Offices, including Bilateral and Multilateral efforts, can effectively solve the Aviation Safety and Security Compliance challenges faced by Pacific island nations.

“The Pacific is always faced with lack of resources and limited capacity. This is why the Pacific has determined there is a requirement for ICAO to assist the Pacific Region, sentiments which were echoed by Samoa in its country statement to the 39th General Assembly.

“Numerous Pacific Countries have embarked on major airport and aviation developments under the auspices of World Bank’s “Pacific Aviation Investment Program” (PAIP) including Construction of new Airports and Terminals, Procurement of Performance Based Navigational Technology and upgrading Terminal, Operational, Safety and Fire-fighting Machinery and Equipment,” the statement continues.

The completion of Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu’s PAIP Projects would essentially enable them to facilitate long haul flights to Asia and the American continent and operate in a more organized and structured Aviation environment.

Whilst Papua New Guinea and Fiji, with markedly more developed airport infrastructures and airline capabilities have led the way with Air Niugini and Fiji Airways operating long haul flights to Asia and the United States of America.

“Mr President, with respect to the Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) the Pacific advises it is not quite appropriate for Pacific countries, because their regulatory environments per se are under developed and need further improvements.

“The Pacific therefore, urges ICAO to modify its approach towards itself and to concentrate on more critical elements that highlight specific target areas needing support services and perhaps to refer to the approach outlined by Work Paper 213 (A-39-WP/213) ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring – Post Implementation review tabled by Australia in this 39th Assembly as some form of guidance.”

“The Pacific argues it does not want to be left behind and in the true spirit of ICAO’s “No Country left behind” initiative proposes ICAO establishes a regional sub office in the Pacific.

“The Pacific wants ICAO to appreciate the very challenges Pacific countries face in implementing ICAO Standards and Requirements are ‘sui generous’ and specific only to its subregion and for ICAO to know these challenges are more apparent for Pacific countries when their financial resources are constrained and aviation capacity limited.”

ICAO’s initiative is both challenging and exciting and the Pacific wants ICAO to explore the merits of a regional sub office because it wants the benefit and comfort of ICAO’s direct partnership and intervention and perhaps a more proactive role directly it believes a Regional Sub Office could achieve this.

Mr Kaltongga is accompanied at the meeting by Joseph Niel, Director of Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu.