ICAO SPEARHEADS DEVELOPMENT OF NEW POLAR AIR ROUTES

ICAO SPEARHEADS DEVELOPMENT OF NEW POLAR AIR ROUTES    Airlines will soon be able to reduce their flight times between North America, Asia and Europe with the development of a new air route structure over the North Pole.
   An agreement was reached late Wednesday during the fourth meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Informal Trans-Asia/Trans-Siberia/Cross Polar Routes High Level Steering Group meeting in Paris. The committee was set up in 1998 to develop safe and economically sound polar air route operations.
   Membership of the steering group includes senior-ranking officials from Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Mongolia, Norway, Russia and the United States. Officials from the airlines and the International Air Transport Association were also present during the talks.
   “States have made considerable efforts to address not only the technical and operations challenges, but also national and political matters of a delicate and often complex nature,” said Dr. Assad Kotaite, president of the ICAO Council.
   Demonstration of polar air route flights have confirmed a reduction in flight times between North America, Asia and Europe. The routes also reduce pollution and should make airlines more efficient in their international business.
   The ICAO, based in Montreal, is a specialized agency of the United Nations that sets international standards and regulations for safety, security and efficiency in the civil air transport sector. There are 185 contracting states in the organization.