The purpose of this article is (1) to summarily explain the origins and mission of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA); and (2) how both organizations co-operate.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
The learned words of President Roosevelt at the opening of the Chicago Conference in November 1944 illustrate well the purpose of the ICAO. In his speech, he went back centuries when great empires were built upon the domination of great seas. The lords of these seas, he said, tried to close these vast areas to some, and provide access to others thereby enriching themselves and extending their power. This led to wars in the Eastern and Western hemispheres. We were not to make that mistake again, he said. The President hoped Chicago would see it that the air which God gave to everyone should not become the means of domination over anyone. Rather, “mindful of the sovereignty” and “juridical equality of all nations”, he said, let us work together so that the air may be used by humanity to serve humanity.
Formed by an Assembly, a Council, and such other bodies as may be necessary (i.e. the Secretariat), the ICAO was established by Part II of the Chicago Convention (1944). A specialized organization of the United Nations, the ICAO operates at the government level with government representatives of each Member State accredited to it. There are currently 193 Member States supporting and directing the ICAO. The day-to-day operations of the ICAO are ensured by the Secretariat headquarter in Montreal, Canada. Stakeholders often refereed to as “Invited Organizations” also play an important role at the ICAO as they participate in the exploration and development of new standards at ICAO. The Secretariat may convene ad hoc panels, task forces, conferences and seminars to explore their technical, political, socio-economic and other aspects. The ICAO also conducts educational outreach, develops coalitions, and conducts auditing, training, and capacity building activities worldwide per the needs and priorities governments identify and formalize.
May we call the ICAO a global regulator? President Roosevelt’s remarks mentioned above already gave a hint for the answer. “Mindful of the sovereignty” and “juridical equality of all nations”, he said. Territorial sovereignty is a fundamental concept in international law, and the Chicago Convention (1944) did not alter that legal principle (see Article 1). Based on this theory, ICAO standards never supersede the primacy of national regulatory requirements (such as the Canadian Aviation Regulations or the United States’ Federal Aviation Regulations). The ICAO is not an international aviation regulator, and cannot arbitrarily close or restrict a State’s airspace, shut down routes, or condemn airports or airlines for poor safety performance or customer service.
In brief, one should see the ICAO as the “official” worldwide diplomatic body promoting aeronautics and aviation safety.
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Technological advancements made during World War Two enabled aircraft manufacturers to make more powerful machines capable to fly higher, faster, and farther and airline companies to plan international air routes. This increase of demand in air travel commanded that the industry organizes itself in an orderly fashion. These efforts were made by a group of lawyers and businessmen led by a gentleman named Herbert James Symington, CMD.
Founded in Havana, Cuba, on 19 April 1945, the IATA’s seat was established in Montreal, Canada the same year by the Parliament of Canada. The IATA is a non-political trade organization of scheduled airlines existing by virtue of its own Act of Incorporation. Although headquartered in Montreal, the IATA is not affiliated with the ICAO.
The IATA’s responsibilities are global in scope and vital to the efficient, seamlessly networked conduct of international commercial air transport. IATA’s mission is to represent, lead and serve the airline industry. Today, the IATA comprises 290 airlines operating scheduled and non-scheduled air services in over 120 countries, carrying 83% of the world’s air traffic.
IATA membership is open to airlines operating scheduled and non-scheduled air services that maintain an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registration.
A few words about the co-operation
The co-operation between the ICAO — the government — and IATA — a commercial body — is truly remarkable. IATA’s Act of Incorporation states that one of its purposes is “to co-operate with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international organisations” — see para. 3(c). This degree of inter-dependence is unique between a government organization and a commercial one. ICAO and IATA form a team co-operating for the development of air transport for the good of the people of the world. They are themselves teams, teams of governments and airlines respectively working to solve problems on a multilateral basis. The complex pattern of technical annexes, rules, regulations, resolutions, recommended practices, lies at the heart of the massive international flying of today and tomorrow; for without that complex, it could not exist.
