All South American States are accredited to ICAO’s Regional office, the Region covers 27 Flight Information Regions (FIRs) between Panama and the Antarctic, including an important part of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The ICAO South American Regional Office is also the headquarters of the Regional Safety Oversight System known as SRVSOP, which was created after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (1998) among ICAO and the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC). SRVSOP is the Regional Safety Oversight Organization that develops and maintains current the Latin American Civil Aviation Regulations known as LARs.
These are just some of the developments that occurred in the SAM Region in 2018:
Colombia harmonizes its Aeronautical Regulations (RACs). The following 30 RACs are in an advanced process of harmonization with the Latin American Aeronautical Regulations (LARs): RAC 11, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 43, 45, 61, 63, 65, 67, 91, 120, 141, 142, 145, 147, 175, 2013, 204 and 215.
Guyana works on a corrective action plan for USOAP. Guyana received assistance from specialist Gustavo de León, an expert in air navigation services, who supports Guyana in the strengthening of an action plan for corrective measures for air navigation services in pursuit of the USOAP audit of 2016.
Panama forms Runway Safety Team for Tocumen. With the support of a mission of the ICAO SAM Office led by officers Fabio Salvatierra (AGA Officer) and Javier Puente (Safety Implementation Officer) and with the participation of the FAA and ACI. The mission allowed interested parties to establish their team and sign terms of reference based on ICAO guidelines to ensure their continuity.
AIDC connections Ecuador – Peru – Chile. On 16 August 2018, AIDC (Communication between ATS Dependencies) connections were established between ACC Guayaquil – ACC Lima and ACC Iquique – ACC Lima.
SAM Region interconnection with Europe. On 25 October 2018, the first AMHS interconnection of the SAM Region came into operation with another Region, connecting the COM Center in Brasilia and the COM Center in Madrid.
Transport Canada Civil Aviation. With the support of Transport Canada Civil Aviation, the Seminar Workshop on Acceptance of SMS for Aerodrome Certification was successfully concluded during the week of 22 to 26 October in the ICAO SAM Office.
Ministry of Transport of Singapore. Bernard Lim, Director of the Division of International Relations and Security of the Ministry of Transport of Singapore, visited the ICAO SAM Office. He gave a detailed presentation on how to manage the passenger experience at an airport, based on his extensive experience at the Changi Airport in Singapore.
Important implementations by Ecuador and Uruguay. The Republic of Ecuador finalized the implementation of software to verify the efficiency of TAFs (SAETAF) with technical assistance from the State of Cuba, while the Eastern Republic of Uruguay implemented and certified the Quality Management System of Aeronautical Information Services (QMS / AIS / AIM).