Supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in ICAO
Talking points
August 2022
Aviation safety transcends national borders. As part of global aviation operations, Taiwan is responsible for managing the heavily traveled Taipei Flight Information Region (Taipei FIR) in East Asia. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has long invited civil aviation stakeholders to its meetings; however, Taiwan, an indispensable part of the global aviation network, has been excluded from ICAO since 1971 for political reasons.
The 41st session of the ICAO Assembly will be held in September 2022. To promote the postpandemic recovery of civil aviation, the theme of the Assembly will be Reconnecting the World. Given the precedent set through its attendance in 2013, Taiwan calls on ICAO to invite Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (Taiwan CAA) to attend the 41st session of the ICAO Assembly, as well as facilitate Taiwan’s meaningful participation in ICAO meetings, activities, and mechanisms. Taiwan calls on ICAO to reconnect with Taiwan so that Taiwan can be part of the collective effort to maintain safer skies.
1.ICAO should be inclusive
For many years, ICAO has invited not only Contracting States, but also non-Contracting States, nongovernmental international civil aviation organizations, and airline representatives, to attend Assembly sessions. To ensure the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation, ICAO should incorporate the participation of all civil aviation-related stakeholders.
2.The importance of the Taipei FIR
The Taipei FIR, part of ICAO’s network of over 300 FIRs, oversees 18 international routes, four domestic routes, and 17 airports providing civil air services. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, the Taipei FIR provided services to over 1.85 million controlled flights (a 5.7 percent increase over 2018) and to about 72 million travelers arriving, departing, or transiting through Taiwan (a 4.7 percent increase over 2018).
Despite the severe effect of the pandemic on air passenger volume, air cargo climbed 26 percent over 2019 to reach 2.92 million tons in 2021. National carriers China Airlines and EVA Air have been two of the few airlines around the world to have remained profitable and not cut jobs. This has been due to their being equipped with extensive freight fleets and operational flexibility, and implementing timely passenger aircraft configuration guidance shared by the US Federal Aviation Administration, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and aircraft manufacturers. According to Airport Council International statistics, Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan’s largest airport, was the fourth-busiest airport in the world in 2020 for international air cargo.
3.In reconnecting the world, ICAO should include the Taiwan CAA
The Taiwan CAA is the sole entity overseeing, and is responsible for safe air traffic management throughout, the Taipei FIR. It offers a comprehensive range of information services and streamlines air routes to ensure the safety and efficiency of all aircraft and passengers arriving in, departing, and transiting the Taipei FIR. However, in August 2022, China unilaterally conducted military exercises around Taiwan on short notice. This affected international air routes and jeopardized aviation safety in the Taipei FIR and neighboring FIRs. The Taiwan CAA did not receive advance communication from China. In an effort to avert danger and alleviate safety concerns, it had to plan for and guide aircraft, including many foreign aircraft, departing, arriving in, or transiting the Taipei FIR over a very short period. The case burdened airlines with additional costs due to their need to take longer and more expensive journeys and substantially increased unforeseen risk. From both a risk and safety management perspective, ICAO should allow the Taiwan CAA to participate in ICAO so that it is able to communicate with other FIRs and provide and obtain timely information via ICAO, as well as contribute to regional and global aviation safety, thus achieving ICAO’s objective of reconnecting the world in the postpandemic era.
4.Collaborating regionally to serve integrated regional development needs
At a regional level, ICAO is implementing the Asia-Pacific Multi-Nodal ATFM Collaboration plan, helping to mitigate airport and airspace congestion as well as reduce risks and fuel consumption. The plan has effectively improved air traffic flow management in the region. The Taiwan CAA is concerned that its inability to join in the plan and collaborate with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region may affect the growth of traffic in the Taipei FIR or even generate a bottleneck for the entire Asia-Pacific region.
5.Participating in ICAO in a professional manner, safeguarding global aviation safety
To enhance global civil aviation safety and improve nations’ safety oversight efficiency and management capabilities, ICAO has formulated the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP), which calls on nations to formulate national aviation safety plans (NASPs) consistent with the regional aviation safety plans (RASPs) formulated by ICAO Regional Offices and other countries.
The Taiwan CAA has been drafting its NASP, but is hobbled in this pursuit by not being able to participate in ICAO, obtain timely information, or collaborate with other countries in the region. For example, the Taiwan CAA has had difficulty learning whether its safety indices are consistent with regional and global indices. Only by participating in ICAO can the Taiwan CAA more closely collaborate with others in the region, ensure that its safety indices comply with RASPs and the GASP, and thus better maintain global aviation safety standards.
The Taiwan CAA has long been forced to resort to obtaining information on ICAO standards by indirect channels. Such standards were then incorporated into domestic laws so as to provide national aviation safety oversight standards. We urge ICAO not to repeatedly ignore the inherent risks of excluding the Taiwan CAA. Such risks, which are known to ICAO, are fully avoidable.
6.Conclusion
The Taiwan CAA maintains the highest possible service standards and levels of safety in the Taipei FIR, and complies with ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices. The Taiwan CAA will continue to work to meet ICAO standards. In promoting postpandemic recovery and reconnecting the world, now is the best time for ICAO to reconnect with Taiwan. To further its contributions to international civil aviation, the Taiwan CAA aspires to share its professional experience by meaningfully and professionally participating in ICAO.