evolving in concert with latest developments and
innovations.
The development of SARPs and PANS follows a
structured, transparent and multi-staged process
– often known as the ICAO “amendment process”
or “standards-making process” – involving a
number of technical and non-technical bodies
which are either within the organisation or closely
associated with ICAO.
Revised ICAO Global Air Navigation and
Safety Plans (Source: ICAO)
The implementation of the recently revised ICAO
Global Air Navigation and Safety Plans will underpin
the continued safe and sustainable development
of the international air transport network, ICAO
Secretary General Dr Fang Liu declared at the
Safeskies Conference in Canberra.
Achieving this will require addressing ‘high-
risk categories’ of occurrences, which have
been recognised in the Global Aviation Safety
Plan (GASP) as controlled flight into terrain,
loss of control in-flight, mid-air collision, runway
excursions, and runway incursions. The GASP
includes a global aviation safety roadmap focused
on these categories.
The Asia and Pacific region is achieving the
highest rate of air traffic growth globally, accounting
for over half of the 1.4 billion international tourists
who travel by air, and is characterised by many
small island and developing States for whom air
connectivity is especially essential. This fact was
further reflected in the spirit of the bilateral meetings
conducted by the Secretary General during her
mission. These focused on identifying means by
which States in the South Pacific could optimise
resources and progress through co-operation,
toward the implementation of ICAO Standards and
Recommended Practices (SARPs) and the realisation
of the objectives set forth by States through ICAO’s
global and regional strategic planning.
The Drones Are Coming (Source: WSJ)
Flying robots that deliver packages to people’s
doorsteps are no longer science fiction.
Companies including Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet
Inc.’s Wing and Uber Technologies Inc. are starting
the most advanced trials of drone delivery in U.S.
history.
While commercial drone delivery faces many
hurdles, Government-approved tests by the tech
giants will mark the first-time consumers in some
parts of the country experience the technology.
Wing started tests this month in Christiansburg,
Virginia, while Uber said it will experiment in San
Diego before the year ends. Amazon has not
revealed where it is operating, but said in June that
it would begin delivering packages to consumers
via drone “within months”. The approaches vary,
and success is anything but assured.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Forecast (Source: The VERGE)
The Federal Aviation Administration has released
its forecast for the next two decades, which
anticipates what’s to come for the aviation world
between now and 2039. Particularly noteworthy
is that the market for commercial drones is
growing faster than anticipated, and could triple
between now and 2023, while the market for non-
commercial drones appears to be slowing.
The report also examines trends when it
comes to what it describes as non-model drones
(commercial-focused devices) — of which each
device must be registered. For this category, “the
pace of monthly registration, almost 15,000, is
nearly three times higher than the pace at which
non-model aircraft owners registered their craft
during the same time last year.” The administration
says that as of the end of 2018, more than 27,000
non-model drones have been registered.
While the market for model drones appears to
be slowing, the market for commercial aircraft is
accelerating, and the FAA expects this growth to
continue. The registration rate will top 44% over
last year’s figures, and it expects that by 2023, the
market will have tripled in size, with an estimated
823,000 drones flying at that time. The report
notes that the number of commercial drones that
will be flying by later this year (or early next year)
will surpass the administration’s estimates for
2022 from last year’s report.
With that growth will come new uses.
Companies like Amazon, Google, Walmart,
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