The Hindu Business Line : Regulation, liberalisation on agenda of air transport meet

THE fifth Worldwide Air Transport Conference - to be held at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal between March 24 and 29 - is expected to discuss issues relating to regulation and air transport liberalisation, among others. The conference is also expected to develop a framework for the progressive liberalisation of international air transport while providing various safeguards, including measures aimed at ensuring the effective and sustained participation of developing countries.

According to an article published in ICAO Journal, there have been several developments regarding the regulation of global air transport since the fourth Worldwide Air Transport Conference was held in 1994. Contracting states of ICAO have since become more open to regulatory reform even as some of them have adjusted their policies and practices to effectively meet the challenges of liberalisation.

The article states that, during the last eight years, about 70 per cent of the newly concluded or amended bilateral agreements have contained some form of liberalised arrangements. By December 2002, 85 open-skies agreements had been concluded involving about 70 countries. Two-thirds of these agreements involved the US as one of the partners.

At the regional and sub-regional levels, groups of states have created multilateral regulatory regimes aimed at fostering co-operation and liberalising air transport regulation among their members. Until 1994, there were just two regional arrangements. Since then, eight more arrangements have emerged.

While ICAO has continued to play the role of a facilitator with regard to air transport liberalisation, some non-aviation organisations such as the World Trade Organisation and the General Agreement on Trade in Services have also become involved in the process. The International Labour Organisation also undertook a study on the impact of air transport liberalisation on employment and social policies.

`Challenges and opportunities of liberalisation' will be the theme of the conference. The conference is hopeful of developing a framework for the progressive liberalisation of global air transport, with safeguards that are aimed at ensuring fair competition, safety and security, including measures to ensure the effective and sustained participation of developing countries. The issue of air carrier ownership and control will also be examined.

With the events of September 11, 2001, having a profound impact on global civil aviation, issues such as aviation war-risk insurance and the impact of enhanced security requirements on the industry, consumers and labour - which, in turn, have implications for the liberalisation process - are also slated to be discussed.

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