ICAO president frets over trafficking via air carriers
- Smugglers net $150bn from illicit trade yearly
President, global aviation regulatory body, the International Civil Organisation (ICAO), Dr. Bernard Olumuyiwa Aliu, has expressed concern over the use of scheduled air services for human trafficking.
He urged airlines to train more flight attendants to help prevent human trafficking, placing cabin crew on the front line of the fight against sexual exploitation and slavery.
To underscore the seriousness of the problem, airline leaders met in the city and were briefed by the United Nations agency responsible for tackling the largely hidden crime, which the United Nations said fetches criminals in the trade $150 billion profit a year.
Speaking in Cancun, Mexico, at the just concluded International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting (AGM), the Nigerian disclosed that the United Nations (UN) General Assembly had recently adopted a resolution on human trafficking, adding that many States have adopted regulations requiring cabin crew training to help combat it, with more expected to follow.
Aliu hinted that ICAO has responded to these expressed concerns by undertaking new guidance material in aid of these efforts, and ICAO’s Cabin Safety Group is presently well on its way to accomplishing that task.
He also disclosed that aviation safety remains an essential priority of all aviation stakeholders, noting that as their global performance continues to improve, aided in that regard by its cooperative efforts under the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP), greater attention has been focused on some specific challenges.
Aliu said that ICAO’s third World Aviation Forum will be taking place in Abuja, Nigeria in November 2017 and would highlight the need for infrastructure and other air transport modernization to support their projected traffic growth, as well as the commitments, – 11 – planning, investments and partnerships to make those needs a reality.
The objective, he said, is to ensure that investments in infrastructure are cost-effective and consistent with the performance objectives as set in ICAO’s global plans for safety, air navigation and security.
He recalled that by the end of the ICAO General Assembly, countries representing over 80 per cent of international flight operations had signalled their eagerness to participate in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) from its earliest pilot phase.
Since that time, he reiterated that Saudi Arabia, Gabon, El Salvador and most recently Nigeria have signalled their intention to join as well, meaning that with the expected other additions, possibly over 90 per cent of international operations will be covered by CORSIA when it launches in 2021.
Regarding sustainable alternative fuels for aviation, the ICAO boss said the body held a seminar last February to exchange information on life-cycle analysis methodologies, sustainability criteria, regulatory frameworks and assistance programmes.
These results, he noted, would serve as a basis for the upcoming ICAO Conference on Aviation Alternative Fuels in October, in Mexico City, where “we expect to establish a global vision and policy framework for their future development and use.”
Sustainable aviation fuel is made from living things or the waste these organisms produce. Some of these fuels come from crops or land resources that compete with food production or water use.
However, Airbus encourages the development of second-generation sustainable aviation fuels – known as biomass – which eliminates such competition. Source options being investigated include algae, woodchip waste, camelina, halophytes such as salicornia (plants growing in salt water), waste produce and yeast.
For instance, certain types of algae sea water combined with sun and carbon can become a “biomass” plant. These offer promising options for large scale production of a fuel that is very similar to kerosene.
Airbus uses local knowledge to identify the best fuel source for each country by helping to connect farmers, refiners, governments and airlines.
Farmers are encouraged to use non-arable land with the confidence that the crop will be bought by refiners.
Additionally, producing sustainable aviation fuel close to where airlines need it minimises emissions created through transporting the liquid to the point of use.
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