You can follow these important discussions on aviation’s future live, here

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For the next two weeks, the 14th Air Navigation Conference (AN-Conf/14) is taking place at ICAO Headquarters in Montréal, Canada. With the theme “Performance Improvement Driving Sustainability,” the Conference will work to reach global consensus on performance improvement initiatives that will best allow ICAO, Member States and industry to address, in the context of constrained resources, aviation’s global environmental challenges and the rapid evolution in aviation operations and technologies.

Every three years the ICAO Council holds a General Assembly where delegations from ICAO’s 193 Member States review and adopt the work programme priorities and the budget for ICAO. They establish public sector policies and targets for international air transport, and they endorse the strategic global planning developed by the ICAO Secretariat. This Air Navigation Conference is a prelude to the Assembly. Discussions during AN-Conf/14, that is taking place between 26 August and 6 September 2024, will focus on major technical topics that will help the ICAO Secretariat align future budgets with the expected decisions before the Assembly.

Though all Member States are invited to attend AN-Conf/14, only senior officials in a decision-making capacity, accompanied by high-level technical advisors on air navigation and safety, can participate. Representatives from non-Member States and international organizations that are invited by the Council, may participate in the meeting with observer status. Member States and international organizations are encouraged to consider involving non-traditional innovators in aviation, in the preparation for the Conference.

AN-Conf/14 provides an opportunity for detailed technical discussions that will lead to agreement on a set of high-level recommendations in the field of air navigation and safety. These recommendations will be submitted to the Council for approval and, when applicable, for subsequent endorsement by the 42nd Session of the Assembly in 2025.

This event provides a forum for updates on the work that has already been prioritized and is currently being carried out in the ICAO 2023-2025 Business Plan. It provides insight to Member States on new ICAO work priorities and provides direction to ICAO as we prepare the Business Plan for the 42nd Session of the Assembly in 2025 and outline a reprioritized work programme and the related resources required.

For those around the world who aren’t eligible to attend the event, we have a platform that brings the discussions to you. We’re sharing all the sessions that will be covered  live, or on-demand on ICAO TV. There are no fees to use this service. The full programme is shared below.

Given the dominant nature of aviation’s environmental challenge, and the need to agree to safety and air navigation strategic plans that build on the related agreements reached at the 41st Session of the Assembly, the Conference is intended to call for an intentional refocusing of effort so that priority can be given to existing or new technical activities that best support the achievement of the long-term aspirational goal for international aviation (LTAG) of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and of other priority focus areas where ICAO activity is essential in order to secure an aviation system that continues to be safe and efficient, with improved resilience.