Joint Communiqué on Global Aviation Recovery, Aviation Sustainability and Inclusive Innovation

1. The inaugural Changi Aviation Summit (CAS) 2022, themed “Readying for take-off: A brighter & cleaner tomorrow”, brings together global aviation leaders and senior executives in Singapore. The summit, held from 17 to 18 May 2022 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, is jointly organised by Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

2. Singapore, ICAO, ACI and IATA have published a Joint Communique, supported by summit participants on 18 May, pledging to:
• Expedite the recovery of international civil aviation
• Promote environmental sustainability
• Support inclusive innovation for growth

3. Please see the Joint Communique on global aviation recovery, aviation sustainability and inclusive innovation – as attached below.

We, as global aviation leaders,

Recognizing the critical role that international civil aviation plays in building connectivity for global economic development and enhancing links between and across societies;

Highlighting that passenger and cargo air connectivity allowed for essential and humanitarian travel and the movement of essential goods during the COVID-19 pandemic and minimizing the high human and socio-economic disruptions caused;

Desiring to restore the socio-economic benefits of air connectivity by accelerating the recovery of international civil aviation from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;

Committing to ensure that the long-term growth of civil aviation is environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive and economically viable;

Supporting the fundamentals of upholding safety, public health, security and facilitation;

Recalling the importance of sustainability to underpin this growth, and protect the environment;

Highlighting the leadership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) through the Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART), and the ICAO High-level Conference on COVID-19 (HLCC 2021) held in October 2021 and its Ministerial Declaration on “One Vision for Aviation Recovery, Resilience and Sustainability beyond the Global Pandemic”;

Pledge to:

Expedite the recovery of international civil aviation

• Work towards achieving the full recovery of international civil aviation by 2024 through the alignment of healthcare protocols for travelers, including removing testing and quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated and/or recovered travelers, taking into consideration the global COVID-19 situation and States’ own public health circumstances;

• Uphold aviation safety and security as a key priority, through visible leadership, regular training for all civil aviation professionals, promoting a positive safety and security culture and effective safety and security management practices;

• Encourage stakeholders to facilitate travel by adopting streamlined document checks, the use of digitally-verifiable documents and automated document checks, to enable more travelers to use contactless processes for safer and faster travel;

• Call upon stakeholders to facilitate air cargo by accelerating the implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, including by digitalizing border processes;

• Support States to work together with industry in public-private partnerships to support the recovery of the aviation sector through adequate funding and governance, and to recruit and train a new generation of aviation professionals;

• Encourage information exchange between civil aviation and public health authorities to ensure a science-based response to new developments or variants of concern;

• Support the continued implementation of the Ministerial Declaration, “One Vision for Aviation Recovery, Resilience and Sustainability beyond the Global Pandemic”;

• Seek to assure global implementation of relevant ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, as well as policies and guidance, that can drive a more cohesive and harmonized recovery;

Promote environmental sustainability

• Target to improve the environmental sustainability of international civil aviation;

• Expedite the development of a clear and pragmatic long-term aspirational goal (LTAG) for the international civil aviation sector at the 41st Session of the ICAO Assembly;

• Encourage States to participate voluntarily in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) as early as possible before 2027;

• Support the ICAO aspiration for a significant proportion of aviation fuels to be substituted by sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) by 2050 through the development and use of SAF including policy support, certification, practical and favorable conditions for production, supply and distribution of SAF, and other efforts;

• Improve operational procedures and processes that would support the reduction in carbon emissions, including in air traffic management, aircraft and airport ground operations, and other areas;

• Strengthen support for research and development to develop innovative and effective solutions to reduce carbon emissions in aviation, including the development and use of energy efficient aircraft, airport ground vehicles, aircraft engines, and energy efficient technologies across the sector;

• Facilitate the sharing of information and expertise among and between regulators, industry, academia and all stakeholders;

Support inclusive innovation for growth

• Provide opportunities for all States and civil aviation professionals to benefit from innovation in air transport through awareness and capacity-building;

• Welcome the adoption of new technologies and innovation that will enable safe and cost-efficient growth, operations and maintenance of civil aviation systems;

• Endorse the innovative leveraging of existing knowledge and capabilities and re-use or repurposing of existing infrastructure for facilitation of aviation and travel, where sensible, in order to increase efficiency and enhance cost-effectiveness;

• Foster efforts to invest in and enhance the training and development of aviation professionals, and to attract and retain talent and expertise in this critical sector. We encourage leading aviation States to provide technical assistance, including fellowships, to facilitate global aviation training;

• Encourage regular training and development of civil aviation professionals to equip them with adequate mindsets and skillsets to embrace new technologies and manage the new and emerging challenges facing the global civil aviation industry. This includes incorporating emerging skills such as in the areas of sustainability and resilience as key elements of training;

• Support more women to build a career in civil aviation, including efforts to encourage female students to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), ensure the workplace is safe and supportive for female professionals in civil aviation to develop as leaders, and actively identify and develop female leaders and professionals in aviation;

• Facilitate regular dialogue within and between regions and enable exchanges to promote the sharing of information and expertise among and between regulators, industry, academia and other stakeholders;

• Call upon stakeholders to adopt measures which prioritize inclusion and accessibility to air transport services for persons with all forms of disabilities and reduced mobility, and encourage States to strive for uniformity in their air transport accessibility regulations, standards and procedures, to the greatest extent practicable and while working closely with disability groups;

• Reiterate the continuous commitment to the Outcome Statement on Innovation in Aviation agreed at the Fifth ICAO World Aviation Forum (IWAF/5) in Montréal, Canada, on 23 September 2019.

Adopted on 18 May 2022, in Singapore.

Supported by:

Ministries of Transport and Civil Aviation Authorities

Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahamas

Belize Department of Civil Aviation, Belize

State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, Kingdom of Cambodia

Civil Aviation Authority, Republic of Cabo Verde

Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, Dominican Republic

Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji, Republic of Fiji

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), Republic of France

Ministry of Transportation, Republic of Indonesia

Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development, Republic of Kazakhstan

Department of Civil Aviation, Kingdom of Lesotho

Ministry of Transport, Malaysia

Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Papua New Guinea, Independent State of Papua New Guinea

Department of Transportation, Republic of the Philippines

Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority, Romania

Civil Aviation Department of Suriname, Republic of Suriname

Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Swiss Confederation

Ministry of Transport, Kingdom of Thailand

National Directorate of Civil Aviation and Aeronautical Infrastructure, Oriental Republic of Uruguay

Organizations

Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA)

Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO)

European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC)

Global Express Association (GEA)

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA)

Aviation Companies

All Nippon Airways (ANA)

Airports of Mauritius Co Ltd (AML)

Neste

Philippine Airlines

The Boeing Company