Aviation authorities attend 13th ICAO conference in Canada

The Deputy Minister of Aviation and MP for Takoradi, Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah has led a team of Aviation experts from the Ministry of Aviation and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority to attend the Thirteenth Air Navigation International Civil Aviation Conference(ICAO) conference currently ongoing in Montreal, Canada.

Also part of the delegation are seasoned experts from the Ghana Meteorological Agency.

The meeting which is held every ten years is on the theme ’’From Development to Implementation’’ and is being attended by over 800 participants from ICAO member states of which Ghana is a member.

Members of the Deputy Ministers delegation include; Acdre Rexford Acquah (rtd), Board Chairman, GCAA, Madam Tina Swatson, Board member, GCAA, Mr. Simon Allotey, Director General , GCAA, Mr. Charles Kraikue, Ag.Deputy Dirctor-General(Tech) and Dr. Mawutor Tanu , Director General , Ghana Meteorological Agency.

Other members are, Mr. Ellis Hue Tamakloe, Director- Ministry of Aviation, Mr. Emmanuel Mammara Kolugu, Director G.MET, Mr. Daniel Acquah , Director -Safety Regulation, GCAA, Mr. Edward Baah,- Director Air Traffic Services , GCAA , Mrs. Joyce Asante , Ag. Director Air Traffic Safety Engineering – GCAA, and Ghana’s representative on the ICAO council in Montreal , Air cdre Kwame Mamphey.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for Member States and aviation stakeholders to work towards ever-evolving global strategies for safety and air navigation planning, development and implementation.

It will coalesce views of the global aviation community around major objectives for safety and air navigation and set priorities for the coming years.

At the conference, subject matter experts will participate in detailed technical discussions which are expected to lead to agreement on a set of high-level recommendations in different key performance areas of the air navigation system.

These recommendations will be submitted for approval to the ICAO Council for subsequent endorsement by the 40th Session of the Assembly in 2019.

The technical discussions at the conference will lead to a more efficient and effective decision-making process during the ICAO Assembly and will allow for the focus to be on strategic issues based on sound technical advice.

Ghana will at the meeting present a paper to support the existence of the African-Indian Ocean (AFI) planning and Implementation Regional Group (APIRG) in improving its contribution to regional air navigation development.

The functions of the Regional Aviation Safety Group- African – Indian Ocean (RASG-AFI) include, analysis of safety information and hazards to civil aviation at the regional level and review of the action plans developed within the region to address identified hazards; conduct follow-up to Global Aviation Safety plan (GASP) activities as required. The coordination with the relevant PIRG on safety issues.

Currently, RSSG-AFI activities are focused on the resolution of significant safety concerns(SSCs), fundamentals of safety oversight (FSO), aircraft investigation(AIG) and emerging safety issues such as runway safety , controlled flight into terrain(CFIT), and loss of control in flight(LOC-I).