ACI ASIA-PACIFIC NEWS

Vivian Fung reports on the latest news, views and events from across the Asia-Pacific region.

ACI/ICAO Aerodrome Certification Seminar

In June, Sydney Airport facilitated the joint ACI-ICAO Aerodrome Certification Seminar, which attracted over 30 delegates representing airports and civil aviation authorities from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kiribati, Myanmar, Nepal, Papa New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga and Vanuatu.

Delivered by ACI instructor, Eoin Ryan, and ICAO instructor, Natrajan Chandra Sekhar, the seminar covered all aspects of achieving and maintaining Aerodrome Certification, with an emphasis on understanding ICAO Annex 14 certification requirements and the additional information provided in other ICAO guidance documents.

Several case studies were provided for discussion about airports that had lost their CAA certification or had difficulty in maintaining their certification, and the ensuing debate provided a range of solutions for consideration.

ACI would like to thank Sydney Airport for their generous support in facilitating the event, which included a mock airside audit of its facilities that gave attendees the opportunity to practice their audit skills.

The seminar was part of ACI’s Developing Nations Airport (DNA) Assistance Programme.

Visit www.aci.aero/Services/DNA-Assistance-Programme for more information about the initiative.

DGCA Asia and Pacific Regions CONFERENCE

ACI Asia-Pacific’s regional director, Patti Chau, was among the aviation leaders invited to take part in the 54th Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Asia and Pacific Regions, held in Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, in August.

She gave presentations on ‘SMART Security: An IATA and ACI initiative to enhance security, facilitation and operational efficiency’; and ‘ACI’s capacity building efforts in security’.

As reported by Chau in her ‘View from the Top’ article in this issue, ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, was also in attendance and shared her views on the topic of ‘Asia-Pacific at the crossroads: Breaking Barriers and Navigating the Future’.

Other aviation leaders present included Dr Fang Liu (Secretary General of ICAO); Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu (President of the ICAO Council); Michael Huerta (FAA Administrator); Bambang Susantono (vice president of knowledge management and sustainable development for the Asian Development Bank) and Aireen Omar (CEO, AirAsia).

The DGCA conference is the annual summit for the civil aviation regulators of the 38 States of the Asia-Pacific Region. The year’s event discussed five ICAO strategic objectives: safety; security and facilitation; air navigation capacity efficiency; environmental protection; and the economic development of air transport.