Airports Council International (ACI) World will champion airport priorities at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) 42nd Assembly in Montreal (September 23 –October 3), calling on regulators to advance safer operations, seamless travel, net-zero pathways, and stronger connectivity as air travel continues to soar.

 

The ICAO Assembly gathers over 2,000 leaders from governments and civil aviation authorities to set international policies, priorities, and standards that govern the civil aviation industry.

 

“With passenger traffic forecast to double to 18.9 billion by 2047, airports must have a strong voice at the ICAO Assembly—the defining global forum for international aviation, where the industry’s direction is set,” said ACI World Director General Justin Erbacci. “Our proposals put forward practical, collaborative solutions to improve the passenger experience, strengthen safety and security, and enable the socio-economic benefits of aviation to flourish in communities worldwide.”

 

What airports are calling for

 

Under the theme Transform airports, empower aviation and connect the world, ACI will present six key positions (i.e., Working Papers) aiming to advance safer operations, seamless travel, net-zero pathways, and stronger connectivity:

 

•Barriers to air connectivity and consumers: Urges States to remove regulatory, fiscal, and visa-related barriers that hinder air connectivity, in order to boost traffic growth, enhance affordability, and advance sustainable socio-economic development.

 

•Safety fundamentals: Aerodrome certification: Urges ICAO and States to prioritise certification of all airports and support industry-led programs to work with airports to attain certification—all to ensure global safety and sustainable air transport growth.

 

•Strengthening the aviation security equipment testing and certification process: Calls for the harmonisation of security equipment certification to improve global coordination, reduce deployment delays, and enable faster adoption of innovative technologies that enhance both security and the passenger experience.

 

•Meeting growing airports’ energy demand to enable decarbonisation: Calls on States to ensure airports have access to reliable and renewable energy—through national coordination and policy support—to meet rising demand and achieve long-term decarbonisation goals.

 

•Seamless passenger experience: Urges States to coordinate policies and collaborate with industry to enable a seamless, secure passenger experience by adopting scalable biometric and digital identity solutions at our borders to better accommodate growing air travel demand.

 

•Toward a modern airport slot policy framework for social and economic growth: Calls for modernising the global aviation slot policy to better reflect public interest, economic goals, and structural changes in aviation.

 

Why it matters

 

The ICAO Assembly outcomes influence national strategies and regulatory environments across all regions.

 

ACI’s advocacy supports a future where airports are empowered to decarbonise via access to renewable energy, passengers benefit from seamless experience, and air connectivity expands—delivering tangible socio-economic benefits for people and communities worldwide.

 

According to the Air Transport Action Group’s (ATAG) latest Aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders report, aviation supports 86.5 million jobs worldwide and contributes $4.1 trillion to global GDP (3.9% of global GDP), underscoring the sector’s essential role in jobs, trade, and global prosperity. -TradeArabia News Service