Since 1944, the Chicago Convention was established, which created the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the air transport industry found channels to move towards its expansion in a safe and efficient manner. That is to say, ICAO built the foundations, the scaffolding and the routes through which civil aviation has been traveling in the world.
The challenges that the development of this activity has had in the different economic cycles, which every day seem to get more complicated, have led the organization to create different committees and develop new areas of experience that allow it to continue being the main reference worldwide regarding to international regulations that guarantee the safety of operations.
Thus, the 19 ICAO annexes have become the compass that allows all countries to operate under accurate parameters, with predominantly technical criteria, whose validity is unquestionable for the 193 countries that have signed the Convention and its annexes.
And even when the focus of ICAO is concentrated on the technical operation and regulations that countries adopt in each of the different operational aspects of civil aviation, the truth is that the different situations have led ICAO to work together with organizations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Airports Council International (ACI), and even with aircraft manufacturers and other companies and associations, on issues as diverse as the environment, alternative fuels, airport facilitation, transit technologies air, baggage handling, support for the clearance and transfer of passengers and goods, etc., among many nodal aspects of the industry.
The important thing is that civil aviation continues its march towards stability, growth and security. That is why, on occasions, the need to make some adjustments to situations that put this organization to the test has been raised.
For example, the Mexican Roberto Kobeh González, the compatriot who has gone the furthest in a representative position in aviation or in UN organizations at the world level, in his last speech as President of the Council 9 years ago, raised the possibility of that ICAO could rethink its structure of bilateral conventions -as is the case until today and which implies immense efforts to harmonize different conventions between States-.
At that time it was already a highly discussed topic that the United States had signed a hundred open skies agreements with different countries on the planet, which de facto modified the idea of bilateral agreements with negotiations that included reciprocity with the inclusion of pairs of cities. , aerial equipment of equivalent capacities and limited acceptance of freedoms of the air.
Since then, Kobeh raised the possibility of moving towards multilateralism in order to move towards a more inclusive, modern and less discretionary proposal for the concatenation of regions.
Given the current situation posed by the pandemic, on the one hand, and the war between Russia and Ukraine on the other, it is likely that the time has come to rethink some issues. The lack of guarantees for aircraft lessors and the impediments to the use of airspace are some of the most conspicuous challenges. The last word rests with the Council, but it will not be easy.