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UNIT 6 ICAO Standards & Recommended Practices 141

Unit 6 Notes
__________________
__________________
ICAO Standards & __________________

Recommended Practices __________________

__________________
__________________

Objectives __________________
__________________
After reading this unit, you will be able to:
__________________
y Understand Basic Concept of ICAO
__________________
y Know about various ICAO Publications
y Understand ICAO Recommended Practices
y Discuss why Standard Necessary
y Describe Origin and Development of SARPs

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZA-

TION (ICAO)
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is
recognized by the United Nations as a specialized agency
for International civil aviation, which codifies the principles
and techniques of international air navigation and fosters
the planning and development of International air transport
to ensure its safe, efficient and orderly evolution.

The ICAO Council adopts Standards and Recommended

Practices concerning air navigation, prevention of unlawful
interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures
for international civil aviation.

In addition, the ICAO defines the protocols for air accident

investigation followed by transport safety authorities in
countries signatory to the Convention on International Civil
Aviation, commonly known as the Chicago Convention.

An agreement between ICAO & UN is designed to ensure an

efficient working relationship and a mutual recognition of
their respective roles. However, ICAO is not subordinate
to, and does not receive any line-of-command authority from,
the United Nations.
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Notes Civil aviation is a powerful force for progress in our modern

__________________ global society. A healthy and growing air transport system
__________________ creates and supports millions of jobs worldwide. It forms part
__________________ of the economic lifeline of many countries. It is a catalyst for
__________________ travel and tourism, the world’s largest industry. Beyond
economics, air transport enriches the social and cultural
__________________
fabric of society and contributes to the attainment of peace
__________________
and prosperity throughout the world.
__________________
__________________ Twenty four hours a day, 365 days of the year, an aeroplane
__________________
takes off or lands every few seconds somewhere on the face
of the earth. Every one of these flights is handled in the same,
__________________
uniform manner, whether by air traffic control, airport
authorities or pilots at the controls of their aircraft. Behind
the scenes are millions of employees involved in
manufacturing, maintenance and monitoring of the products
and services required in the never-ending cycle of flights. In
fact, modern aviation is one of the most complex systems of
interaction between human beings and machines ever
created.

This clock-work precision in procedures and systems is made

possible by the existence of universally accepted standards
known as Standards and Recommended Practices, or SARPs.
SARPs cover all technical and operational aspects of
international civil aviation, such as safety, personnel
licensing, operation of aircraft, aerodromes, air traffic
services, accident investigation and the environment.
Without SARPs, our aviation system would be at best chaotic
and at worst unsafe.

Creating and modernizing SARPs is the responsibility of the

International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, the
specialized agency of the United Nations whose mandate is
to ensure the safe, efficient and orderly evolution of
international civil aviation.

ICAO has its headquarters in Montreal, Canada, with seven

regional offices throughout the world. From its beginning in
1944 it has grown to an organization with over 180
Contracting States. The charter of ICAO is the Convention
on International Civil Aviation, drawn up in Chicago in
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UNIT 6 ICAO Standards & Recommended Practices 143
December 1944, and to which each ICAO Contracting State Notes
is a party. __________________
__________________
According to the Convention, the Organization is made up
__________________
of an Assembly, a Council and a Secretariat. The chief officers
are the President of the Council and the Secretary General. __________________
__________________
It is in the Council that Standards and Recommended
__________________
Practices are adopted and incorporated as Annexes to the
__________________
Convention on International Civil Aviation. With regard to
__________________
the development of Standards, the Council is assisted by the
Air Navigation Commission in technical matters, the Air __________________

Transport Committee in economic matters and the __________________

Committee on Unlawful Interference in aviation security
matters.

The principal body concerned with the development of

technical Standards and other provisions is the Air
Navigation Commission. Its primary role is to advise the
Council of ICAO on air navigation issues. The Secretariat,
headed by a Secretary General, is divided into five main
divisions: the Air Navigation Bureau, the Air Transport
Bureau, the Technical Co-operation Bureau, the Legal
Bureau, and the Bureau of Administration and Services.

ICAO PUBLICATIONS
A. The ICAO Bulletin. This document is published 12 times
annually and contains a digest of ICAO meetings and
activities for the previous period.

B. Final Reports of Meetings. The final reports of divisional,

regional, and panel meetings include the proceedings
and recommendations of each meeting. Approved
recommendations are separately referred to the affected
states for implementation

C. Annexes to the Convention. Standards and Recommended

Practices of ICAO are designated as “Annexes” to the
Convention and are published separately for each
technical field after adoption by the Council

D. Procedures for Air Navigation Services (PANS). The

uniform application of certain operating procedures is
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Notes necessary for safe and efficient air navigation. Operating

__________________ procedures covering aircraft operations, construction of
__________________ visual and instrument flight procedures, ICAO
__________________ abbreviations and codes, rules of the air, and air traffic
__________________ services have been adopted by ICAO.
__________________ E. Supplementary Procedures. Certain procedures apply
__________________ only in specific regions and those are published as
__________________ Supplementary Procedures.
__________________
F. Field Manuals. These manuals have no formal status by
__________________ themselves but derive their status from the
__________________ International Standards, Recommended Practices, and
PANS from which they are compiled. They are prepared
primarily for the use of personnel engaged in operations
in the field.

G. ICAO Circulars.

ICAO Circulars are issued by the Secretary General to

make specialized information available to contracting
states. They include studies of statistics, summaries of
treaties or agreements, analyses of technical documents,
and studies of technical subjects

H. The publications discussed in this paragraph and other

publications published and distributed by ICAO are
available at the following address: Public Information
Office, International Civil Aviation Organization, 1000
Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 400 Montreal, Quebec
Canada H3A, 2R2 97.

ANNEXES TO THE CONVENTION

ICAO Annexes contain the Standards and Recommended
Practices that have been adopted through international
agreement. The 18 Annexes are described as follows:

(1) Annex 1, Personnel Licensing, provides information

on licensing of flight crews, air traffic controllers, and
aircraft maintenance personnel

(2) Annex 2, Rules of the Air, contains rules relating to

conducting visual and instrument flight
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UNIT 6 ICAO Standards & Recommended Practices 145
(3) Annex 3, Meteorological Service for International Air Notes
Navigation, provides for meteorological services for __________________
international air navigation and reporting of __________________
meteorological observations from aircraft __________________

(4) Annex 4, Aeronautical Charts, contains specifications __________________

for aeronautical charts used in international aviation __________________

__________________
(5) Annex 5, Measurement Units Used in Air and Ground
__________________
Operations, lists dimensional systems to be used in air
__________________
and ground operations
__________________
(6) Annex 6, Operation of Aircraft, enumerates __________________
specifications which ensure a level of safety above a
prescribed minimum in similar operations throughout
the world. The three parts of this Annex are as follows:
• Part I - International Commercial Air Transport -
Airplanes • Part II - International General Aviation -
Airplanes • Part III - International Operations -
Helicopters

(7) Annex 7, Aircraft Nationality and Registration

Marks, specifies requirements for registration and
identification of aircraft

(8) Annex 8, Airworthiness of Aircraft, specifies uniform

procedures for certification and inspection of aircraft

(9) Annex 9, Facilitation, provides for simplification of

border-crossing formalities

(10) Annex 10, Aeronautical Telecommunications,

volume 1, provides for standardization of
communications equipment and systems, and volume 2
standardizes communications procedures

(11) Annex 11, Air Traffic Services, includes information

on establishing and operating air traffic control, flight
information, and alerting services

(12) Annex 12, Search and Rescue, provides information

on organization and operation of facilities and services
necessary for search and rescue

(13) Annex 13, Aircraft Accident Investigation, provides

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Notes for uniformity in notification, investigation, and

__________________ reporting on aircraft accidents
__________________
(14) Annex 14, Aerodromes, contains specifications for the
__________________
design and equipment of aerodromes
__________________
__________________ (15) Annex 15, Aeronautical Information Services,
includes methods for collecting and disseminating
__________________
aeronautical information required for flight operations
__________________
__________________ (16) Annex 16, Environmental Protection, contains
__________________ specifications for aircraft noise certification, noise
__________________
monitoring, and noise exposure units for land-use
planning (volume 1) and aircraft engine emissions
(volume 2)

(17) Annex 17, Security-Safeguarding International Civil

Aviation Against Acts of Unlawful Interference, specifies
methods for safeguarding international civil aviation
against unlawful acts of interference

(18) Annex 18, The Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods

by Air, contains specifications for labelling, packing, and
shipping dangerous cargo.

ICAO STANDARDS & RECOMMENDED PRAC-

TICES
Standard
A Standard is defined as any specification for physical
characteristics, configuration, material, performance,
personnel or procedure, the uniform application of which is
recognized as necessary for the safety or regularity of
international air navigation and to which Contracting States
will conform in accordance with the Convention; in the event
of impossibility of compliance, notification to the Council is
compulsory under Article 38 of the Convention.

Recommended Practice
A Recommended Practice is any specification for physical
characteristics, configuration, material, performance,
personnel or procedure, the uniform application of which is
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UNIT 6 ICAO Standards & Recommended Practices 147
recognized as desirable in the interest of safety, regularity Notes
or efficiency of international air navigation, and to which __________________
Contracting States will endeavour to conform in accordance __________________
with the Convention. States are invited to inform the Council __________________
of non-compliance. __________________
Why are Standards Necessary? __________________
__________________
Sixteen out of eighteen Annexes to the Convention are of a
technical nature and therefore fall within the responsibilities __________________

of the Air Navigation Bureau and its sections. The remaining __________________
two Annexes, Facilitation and Security, are under the __________________
purview of the Air Transport Bureau. Since the majority of __________________
the Annexes concern technical issues, it is focused on them
when the development process is described.

ICAO standards and other provisions are developed in the

following forms:

l Standards and Recommended Practices - collectively

referred to as SARPs;

l Procedures for Air Navigation Services - called PANS;

l Regional Supplementary Procedures - referred to as

SUPPs; and

l Guidance Material in several formats.

SARPs are formulated in broad terms and restricted to

essential requirements. For complex systems such as
communications equipment, SARPs material is constructed
in two sections: core SARPs - material of a fundamental
regulatory nature contained within the main body of the
Annexes, and detailed technical specifications placed either
in Appendices to Annexes or in manuals.
How SARPs are depicted in Annexes?
The Recommended Practices are always written with Italic
“Fonts” and ‘should’ word is used in Recommended Practices.
Standards are written with normal “Fonts” and ‘shall’ word
is used in Standards.

Examples of typical of Standards and Recommended

Practices from ICAO Annex-14 are given below;
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Notes “————-
__________________
4.2.6 Recommendation.— In considering proposed
__________________
construction, account should be taken of the possible future
__________________
development of an instrument runway and consequent
__________________ requirement for more stringent obstacle limitation
__________________ surfaces.
__________________
(Standards are shown in the following form)
__________________
__________________ Non-precision approach runways
__________________
4.2.7 The following obstacle limitation surfaces shall be
__________________ established for a non-precision approach runway:

— conical surface;

— inner horizontal surface;

— approach surface; and

— transitional surfaces.

————“

The basic criterion for deciding whether a particular issue

should be a Standard is an affirmative answer to the question,
“Is uniform application by all contracting States essential?”
The applicability of a Standard may be subject to certain
conditions relating to such areas as terrain, traffic density,
stages of flight, and climate. A Standard should, however, be
applied equally by any contracting state where those
specified conditions are encountered, unless the contracting
state notifies ICAO of a difference

Origin of Proposals for SARPs

How are SARPs created? What makes them so effective today
and how can they ensure the safe, efficient and orderly growth
of international civil aviation in the years to come? The
answer lies in the four “C’s” of aviation: cooperation,
consensus, compliance and commitment. Cooperation in the
formulation of SARPs, consensus in their approval,
compliance in their application, and commitment of
adherence to this on-going process.
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UNIT 6 ICAO Standards & Recommended Practices 149
The formulation of new or revised SARPs begins with a Notes
proposal for action from ICAO itself or from its Contracting __________________
States. Proposals also may be submitted by international __________________
organizations. __________________
__________________
Development of SARPs
__________________
For technical SARPs, proposals are analysed first by the Air __________________
Navigation Commission, or ANC. Depending on the nature __________________
of the proposal, the Commission may assign its review to a
__________________
specialized working group.
__________________
Meetings are, of course, the main vehicle for progress in the __________________
air navigation field, although much of the preparatory work
is accomplished by correspondence. It is through a variety
of meetings that most of the work is finalized and the
necessary consensus reached.

In the development, a number of consultative mechanisms

are used:

Air Navigation meetings are divisional-type meetings

devoted to broad issues in the air navigation fields. They
can be either divisional meetings dealing with issues in one
or more related fields or air navigation conferences normally
having a “theme” covering issues in more than one field. All
Contracting States are invited to participate in these
meetings with equal voice. Interested international
organizations are invited to participate as observers.

ANC panels are technical groups of qualified experts formed

by the ANC to advance, within specified time frames, the
solution of specialized problems which cannot be solved
adequately or expeditiously by the established facilities of
the ANC and the Secretariat. These experts act in their
expert capacity and not as representatives of the nominators.

Air Navigation study groups are small groups of experts

made available by States and international organizations to
assist the ICAO Secretariat, in a consultative capacity, in
advancing progress on technical tasks.

Council technical committees are established to deal with

problems involving technical, economic, social and legal
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Notes aspects, for the resolution or advancement of which expertise

__________________ is required that is not available through the normal Council
__________________ means, are also instrumental in developing ICAO SARPs.
__________________
In summary, technical issues dealing with a specific subject
__________________ and requiring detailed examination are normally referred
__________________ by the ANC to a panel of experts. Less complex issues may
__________________ be assigned to the Secretariat for further examination,
__________________ perhaps with the assistance of an air navigation study group.
__________________
Review of Draft SARPs
__________________
__________________ These various groups report back to the Air Navigation
Commission in the form of a technical proposal either for
revisions to SARPs or for new SARPs, for preliminary review.
This review is normally limited to consideration of
controversial issues which, in the opinion of the Secretariat
or the Commission, require examination before the
recommendations are circulated to States for comment.

The original recommendations for core SARPs along with

any alternative proposals developed by the Air Navigation
Commission are submitted to Contracting States and selected
international organizations for comment. Detailed technical
specifications for complex systems are made available to
States upon request and are submitted to a validation
process. States are normally given three months to comment
on the proposals.

Standards developed by other recognized international

organizations can also be referenced, provided they have
been subject to adequate verification and validation.

The comments of States and international organizations are

analysed by the Secretariat and a working paper detailing
the comments and the Secretariat proposals for action is
prepared.

The Commission undertakes the final review of the

recommendations and establishes the final texts of the
proposed amendments to SARPs, PANS and associated
attachments. The amendments to Annexes recommended by
the Commission are presented to the Council for adoption
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UNIT 6 ICAO Standards & Recommended Practices 151
under cover of a “Report to Council by the President of the Notes
Air Navigation Commission”. __________________
__________________
Adoption/Publication of Annex Amendments
__________________
The Council reviews the proposals of the Air Navigation __________________
Commission and adopts the amendment to the Annex if two- __________________
thirds of the members are in favour. __________________

Within two weeks of the adoption of an Annex amendment __________________

by the Council, an interim edition of the amendment, __________________

referred to as the “Green Edition”, is dispatched to States __________________
with a covering explanatory letter. This covering letter also __________________
gives the various dates associated with the introduction of
the amendment.

Policy prescribes that Contracting States be allowed three

months to indicate disapproval of adopted amendments to
SARPs. A further period of one month is provided for
preparation and transit time, making the Effective Date
approximately four months after adoption by Council. There
should be a period of four months between an amendment’s
Effective Date and its Applicability Date. However, this can
be longer or shorter as the situation requires. The
Notification Date is normally one month prior to the
Applicability Date.

Provided a majority of States have not registered

disapproval, the amendment will become effective on the
Effective Date.

On the Notification Date, which is one month prior to the

Applicability Date, the States must notify the Secretariat of
any differences that will exist between their national
regulations and the provision of the Standard as amended.
The reported differences are then published in supplements
to Annexes.

Immediately after the Effective Date, a letter is sent

announcing that the amendment has become effective and
the Secretariat takes action to issue the “Blue Edition” which
is the form of the amendment suitable for incorporation in
the Annex or PANS.
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Notes On the Applicability Date, States must implement the

__________________ amendments unless, of course, they have notified differences.
__________________ To limit the frequency of Annex and PANS amendments, the
__________________ Council has established one common applicability date for
__________________ each year. This date is chosen from the schedule for the
regulation of amendments to Aeronautical Information
__________________
Regulation and Control (AIRAC) for the month of November.
__________________
__________________ The result of this adoption procedure is that the new or
__________________ amended Standards and Recommended Practices become
__________________
part of the relevant Annex.
__________________ It takes on average 2 years from the Preliminary Review by
the ANC to the applicability date. Although this process may
seem lengthy at first glance, it provides for repeated
consultation and extensive participation of States and
international organizations in producing a consensus based
on logic and experience.

Cooperation and consensus have thus provided international

aviation with the vital infrastructure for safe and efficient
air transport. The third “C”, compliance, brings this
comprehensive regulatory system to life.

Implementation of SARPs/Universal Safety Oversight Au-

dit Programme
Under the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the
implementation of SARPs lies with Contracting States. To
help them in the area of safety, ICAO established in 1999 a
Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme. The
Programme consists of regular, mandatory, systematic and
harmonized safety audits carried out by ICAO in all
Contracting States.

The objective is to promote global aviation safety by

determining the status of implementation of relevant ICAO
SARPs, associated procedures and safety-related practices.
The audits are conducted within the context of critical
elements of a State’s safety oversight system. These include
the appropriate legislative and regulatory framework; a
sound organizational structure; technical guidance; qualified
personnel; licensing and certification procedures; continued
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UNIT 6 ICAO Standards & Recommended Practices 153
surveillance and the resolution of identified safety concerns. Notes
__________________
Since its inception, the Programme has proved effective in
__________________
identifying safety concerns in the safety-related fields under
__________________
its scope, while providing recommendations for their
resolution. The Programme is being gradually expanded to __________________

include aerodromes, air traffic services, aircraft accident and __________________

incident investigation and other safety-related fields. __________________
__________________
While providing additional assistance in the form of regional
__________________
safety oversight seminars and workshops, the programme
also provides ICAO with valuable feedback to improve __________________

existing SARPs and create new ones. __________________

The experience gained with the safety oversight programme

was successfully adapted to aviation security. In 2002, the
Universal Security Audit Programme was launched to
similarly help States identify deficiencies in the
implementation of security-related SARPs. The format may
in the future be applied to other areas of civil aviation.

Yes, cooperation, consensus, compliance and an unfailing

commitment to the on-going implementation of SARPs have
made it possible to create a global aviation system that has
evolved into the safest mode of mass transportation ever
conceived. The flight crew of today’s commercial aircraft, as
their predecessors and those that will follow, can count on a
standardized aviation infrastructure wherever they fly in
the world.

ICAO is proud of this unique achievement, based on the

singled-minded pursuit of working with its Contracting
States and all other partners of the international civil
aviation community in providing the citizens of the world
with an aviation system that is safe and reliable, now and
for years to come.

References
1. Various related ICAO Annexes & Documents

2. ICAO Website http://www.icao.int/

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Notes Questions
__________________
__________________ General Questions.
__________________ 1. Write different steps involved in development of SARPs
__________________ starting from “Proposal stage” till “implementation”.
__________________
2. How SARPs are adopted and published
__________________
__________________ Objective Type of questions
__________________
a. ‘There are 18 ICAO Annexes, which contain — that have
__________________
been adopted through International agreement.
__________________
b. Standards’ are mandatory requirements set up by ICAO
in its Annexes for the safety or regularity of
International air navigation and is denoted by the words
—-

c. A Recommended Practice is any specification for

physical characteristics, configuration, material,
performance, personnel or procedure, the uniform
application of which is recognized as desirable in the
interest of safety, regularity or efficiency of international
air navigation, and to which Contracting States will
endeavour to conform in accordance with the
Convention. States are invited to inform the Council of
non-compliance. It is denoted by the words —-

Answers to Objective Type of questions

a. ‘Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs)”

b. shall

c. should