The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) develops common regulations and standards for civil aviation. Countries around the world abide by ICAO’s directives to ensure the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation.

The 41st session of the triennial ICAO Assembly, to be held between September 27 and October 7 this year in Montreal, Canada, will be ICAO’s biggest event since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Thus, the meeting will be symbolic for supporting the recovery of the aviation sector. It further showcases the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders in the international aviation community. We call on ICAO to reconnect with Taiwan in a collective effort to achieve the goal of a seamless sky.

ICAO, an important forum spurring the development of aviation, is where all stakeholders discuss issues such as aviation safety, air navigation services, aviation security, environmental protection, and aviation economics. All of these bear on the development of each country’s civil aviation sector. For many years, ICAO has invited not only Contracting States, but also non-Contracting States, nongovernmental international civil aviation organizations, and airline representatives, to attend Assembly sessions.

As the global aviation industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic, collaboration among all stakeholders in support of passenger health and safe travel is more important than ever. No stakeholder, especially a civil aviation authority, should be excluded.

Taipei Flight Information Region (Taipei FIR) is part of ICAO’s network of over 300 FIRs. Taipei FIR, overseen by Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration, has high-density routes. In 2020, 97 airlines offered services to and from Taiwan, operating passenger and cargo flights on 324 routes and connecting to 148 cities around the world. Taiwan’s two main carriers, China Airlines and Eva Airways, have been among the few airlines around the world to have remained profitable and not cut jobs. In 2020, China Airlines and EVA Airways ranked fifth and 16th, respectively, for international cargo volumes. In addition, according to Airports Council International statistics for 2020 and 2021, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan’s largest, was the fourth-busiest airport in the world for international air cargo.

Taipei FIR and Myanmar’s FIRs are also closely connected. Taiwan’s China Airlines, before the Covid-19 pandemic, offered five to seven weekly flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Yangon International Airport, with over 30,000 Taiwanese making the trip to Myanmar every year. Due to the pandemic, the airlines now has two flights per week. Myanmar Airways International also offers flights from Yangon to Taipei.

ICAO chose the theme “reconnecting the world” for this year’s Assembly to promote a global aviation recovery. Now is the time for ICAO to reconnect with all stakeholders, not one less, allowing them to share professional experiences and to participate in ICAO’s 41st Assembly meaningfully and professionally so as to help the world meet the ICAO goal of a seamless network for aviation safety.

As an important stakeholder in the international aviation community, Taiwan takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard aviation safety. Participation in ICAO would allow Taiwan, together with all other countries and stakeholders, to contribute to the further development of global aviation and the well-being of all humankind.