Held every year on 7th December International Civil Aviation Day is meant to raise awareness of the importance of civil aviation and the role the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) plays in developing international standards for aviation safety. So what is it all about?

The importance of Civil Aviation Day

It came into being on December 7, 1944, to ensure international cooperation and uniformity in civil aviation matters. The day also commemorates the ICAO’s role in promoting safety, efficiency and regularity of international air transport.  Its aims are to generate global awareness of the importance of international civil aviation in social and economic development

ICAO, with the support from governments, business organisations and individuals globally, actively promotes International Civil Aviation Day through with a variety of events such as seminars, advertising, educational lectures, classroom activities, and news announcements on international civil aviation topics related to the day.

Of course, 2020 has been the year of the Covid pandemic and unnecessary travel has been restricted and I certainly had to cancel plans for a 90th birthday party in Switzerland and a 70th in Spain. At the same time, it has been brought home to us exactly how much, we in the UK especially, rely on air travel for imports and exports. During the first lockdown I sat in the garden and watched one plane a day coming in from somewhere to land somewhere hopefully with food and/or PPE.

The other factor which has been interesting is how much cleaner the air quality is with so few planes in the air.

ICAO is a UN body that works closely with other United Nations members including the World Meteorological Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the Universal Postal Union, the World Health Organization and the International Maritime Organization.