The UN ICAO’s governing council has established a new Covid-19 Aviation Recovery Task Force to coordinate government and industry efforts for the post-pandemic recovery of the international aviation sector.
The task force will leverage government and industry data toward solutions to the immediate challenges being felt sector-wide, and the priorities to be addressed to reboot the network for a post-Covid world, and make it more resilient and responsive in the process, the ICAO said in a press statement.
The new body comprises ICAO council members and high-level aviation industry representatives including the directors general of all major air transport industry associations. UN entities such as the WHO and the UNWTO, as well as the heads of several national and regional aviation administrations, are also represented.
“As we know, air connectivity is critical to economic and sustainable development in every region of the world. Consequently, an effective recovery of international air transport is essential to support the post Covid-19 pandemic worldwide economic recovery,” ICAO council president Salvatore Sciacchitano said at a meeting of the task force on Wednesday.
“We are not talking of a recovery after an international air transport crisis. International air transport has faced several crises in the past from which it was able to regain its position thanks to timely initiatives by ICAO. The progress achieved over the course of decades could be entirely erased if international air transport does not resume soon and effectively.”
The council expects the first outcome by the task force by end-May.
