IATA asks ICAO to approve pilots’ age limit to 67 from 65, speed up accident investigation, others

• Global regulatory body accepts 14 working IATA papers

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it has high expectations for the 42^nd Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to take place in Montreal, 23 September 23-October 3 October 2025.

Consequently, ICAO has accepted 14 working papers authored by IATA covering a wide range of topics for the Assembly’s consideration.

Part of the suggestion or position of IATA is on pilots’ age limit on multi-pilot international flights, with the clearing house for more than 300 global airlines supports lifting the multi‑pilot limit to 67, retaining the existing cockpit safeguard of at least one pilot under 65 and pairing the change with stronger, standardised medical oversight.

This, it said, reflects longer, healthier careers while keeping safety safeguards in place.

Under ICAO Annex 1 (pilot licensing rules), airline pilots on multi‑pilot international operations must retire at 65.

The Director-General of IATA, Willie Walsh, said, “IATA will be participating in the ICAO Assembly with safety, sustainability and efficiency at the top of our priority list. We must secure stronger support for SAF production and CORSIA as key enablers of aviation’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.”

“Equally, we need agreement to follow the principles and provisions of the Chicago Convention to avoid patchworks of debilitating tax measures and passenger rights regulations. And we must shore up safety with timely accident reports, mitigations for GNSS interference and preservation of critical radio-frequency spectrum”.

Global standards, many of which are developed by governments through ICAO, are crucial for safe, efficient and increasingly sustainable aviation operations worldwide.

These standards are developed with the expertise and input of airline operators worldwide working with ICAO Member States at ICAO.

The ICAO Assembly is a once-every-three-year opportunity for states to align on ICAO’s work program as it addresses aviation’s most pressing issues.

“The criticality of global standards to global aviation cannot be underestimated. I am optimistic about the outcomes of this Assembly. Everybody wants flying to be safe, efficient and more sustainable.

“So, we have a common agenda with governments. Indeed, many of our submissions to the Assembly are simply asking governments to more effectively implement what they have already agreed. The coming weeks in Montreal are essential to set the agenda, but even more important is the following three years of work to achieve what is agreed,” said Walsh.

Most topical among the papers IATA has submitted is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Production.

IATA said targets for SAF use set by the ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative fuels (CAAF/3) should be reviewed by states to take into consideration the price-raising consequences of setting mandates without the anticipated increase in SAF production.

It equally asks states to support its efforts to create a functioning SAF market, step up economic incentives for fuel producers for SAF production and make timely policy interventions to address anomalies.

On accident investigation, IATA asks states to complete accident reports in line with Annex 13 requirements and in a timely manner and support capacity building for states with insufficient accident investigation resources.

ICAO Annex 13 requires that states file a final accident report within a year of the accident’s occurrence. When this is not possible, updates must be published.

Unfortunately, only 57% of accidents between 2018 and 2023 have a publicly available final accident report. This deprives aviation of a vital source of safety information.

On Radio Frequency Spectrum, IATA asks states to protect safety-critical frequencies used by aviation from interference to strengthen coordination among telecoms and aviation regulators to ensure the safety of flight, follow best practices of successful implementations, and agree on realistic timelines for any retrofits.

As the telecoms industry rolls out 5G and eventually 6G services, it is demanding greater allocations of radio frequency spectrum. Aviation requires spectrum for many purposes, including the critical 4.2-4.4GhZ band for radio altimeters.

Some configurations for 5G rollouts (particularly in the US, Australia and Canada) have created unacceptable risks to aviation safety in the vicinity of airports, which require mitigation measures (reconfiguration of 5G antenna as airlines retrofit with interference-proof avionics). Due to supply chain challenges and the time needed to develop and test global standards, retrofit timelines are not going to be met.

Wole Shadare