Nigeria may benefit from ICAO assistance to countries
The Nigeria Aviation industry may benefit from the recently introduced International Civil Aviation Authorities (ICAO) resource package aimed at assisting countries in establishing COVID-19 travel corridors.
The ICAO last week revealed its readiness to assist countries seeking to establish public travel corridors during their COVID-19 recovery phases.
In a statement released by the ICAO and made available to Nigerian NewsDirect, the body unveiled a new implementation package (iPack) on Establishing a Public Health Corridor (PHC).
According to the body, the package is composed of guidance material, support personnel, training, and other resources, “the new travel corridor iPack is fully aligned with the latest recommendations issued by the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART), and with the guidance developed jointly by ICAO, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other contributors in the UN aviation agency’s new Manual on Testing and Cross-border Risk Management Measures (Doc 10152).”
Revealing the motivating factor behind the establishment of the initiative and outstretched arms to countries, the ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu noted that, “The initiative has greatly benefitted from the continuous feedback which we’ve been receiving from our Member States through our COVID-19 monitoring and coordination platforms and other feedback mechanisms.”
Fang added, “It expands on the guidance already developed by ICAO in this area, and provides access to training courses, a practical hands-on workshop updated regularly with the latest scientific evidence, and a dedicated subject matter expert to consult on the participating countries’ planning and progress.”
Implemented through its Technical Cooperation Bureau and supported by several donor States and organizations, ICAO’s COVID-19 iPacks have served as key global pandemic resources during countries’ air transport recovery efforts in areas such as safety risk management, facilitation, aviation security, and airport re-openings.
“National authorities taking advantage of the new PHC iPack will gain access to the latest PHC best practices already identified by other countries, including on the design and conduct of effective gap analyses against the latest guidance issued by ICAO, the CART, and the Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA),” emphasized ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano.
