TORONTO – Air Canada is speaking out following the release of a draft audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Transport Canada’s implementation of ICAO standards.
“It is vital to note that this was not an audit of the operation of Canadian aircraft.
On Air Canada’s side, we have our own inflexible internal security processes. These are evaluated and audited through the International Air Transport Association, the global airline agreement with three hundred members. The IATA Safety Audit (IOSA) is the popular gold for assessing airline protection and its good luck is a condition of membership,” Air Canada said in a statement.
Air Canada added: “Our most recent IOSA audit was completed in November and passed by Air Canada with exemplary results, well above average. In addition, we frequently collaborate with other aviation organizations and governments around the world to promote maximum security and the percentage of maximum productive protection. internship.
“AMONG THE SAFEST IN THE WORLD”
As The Canadian Press reported yesterday, Canada earned a C rating in flight security oversight (down from A just two decades ago and well below the peak of its peers), according to a draft report prepared by a United Nations agency.
The confidential ICAO audit received via The Canadian Press says the country has fallen precipitously to a score of 64 out of 100, with three areas of safety oversight in particular experiencing a sharp drop: flight operations, airports and air navigation.
Canada’s score topped 10% in the U. N. agency’s last report in 2005, according to the SC.
The United Nations framework advised the government to implement a formula to ensure full compliance with regulations by airlines and airports, certifications as dangerous products, and ensure sufficiently good education and fatigue control of air traffic controllers.
The scarcity of the latter and the tendency to shift day-to-day security jobs from government to industry considerations across the continent, said Ross Aimer, chief executive of California-based Aero Consulting Experts.
“Every other day we hear about what we call ‘near failing. ‘I don’t like the term “near failing”; I’d like to call it almost a collision,” Aimer said.
In September, two Air Canada planes crashed into the ground at Vancouver airport, tearing off parts of their wingtips in a low-speed collision.
In March, an air traffic controller cleared an Air Canada Rouge plane to take off from Sarasota, just as an American Airlines plane was making its final advance toward the same runway, prompting the U. S. pilot to prevent one of six incidents of conflicting runway use that the U. S. National Transportation Safety Board was investigating at the time.
However, the Canadian government was under pressure that the UN report would not give a measure of the country’s security functionality and would not point to any issues that required immediate action.
“ICAO has known significant security issues with Canada’s civil aviation system, and we know that our country’s aviation sector is among the safest in the world,” said Laura Scaffidi, spokeswoman for Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez.
Barry Prentice, director of the University of Manitoba’s Transport Institute, said Canada’s track record on flight protection speaks for itself, with a decline in the number of plane fatalities in years and no primary injuries on planes in decades.
“What are the results? I haven’t noticed much of a protective factor in the airline industry for a while now,” he said. “It’s an indication that the formula is working well. “
Last year, the number of air transportation accidents declined 43% to 165 – a new 10-year low – from 291 in 2012, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
“Transport Canada is confident in the protection of Canada’s aviation system, and the branch will welcome the opportunity to expand our processes and framework to better align with ICAO’s criteria and practices,” ministry spokesman Hicham Ayoun said in an email.
The government had until Oct. 30 to respond to the agency’s draft audit, and a final report is expected in the coming weeks.
The report comes amid a persistent shortage of aviation employees, joined by air traffic controllers, pilots and baggage handlers, adding to the demanding situations facing the sector after its crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The overall score measures a given country’s “safety oversight capacity” based on questionnaires, checklists, and visits from industry players, including Air Canada, Nav Canada, and Montreal Airport.
Carried out between May 31 and June 14, the audit examines eight areas including legislation, licensing and accident investigations.
In all 3 categories, Canada scored between 67 and 83, all at least 8 points lower than in the previous security audit.
It ranks below other G7 countries, with the exception of the United Kingdom, in top categories, and also below most of the 38 states in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a club of economically developed countries.
Oversight of aircraft operations saw the biggest plunge, falling to a score of 23 from 88.
Aimer warned that governments delegate oversight responsibilities to airlines and brands instead of taking responsibility for controls and assurances themselves.
“It’s almost like the fox guarding the henhouse. You can’t be promoting aviation and yet policing it at the same time,” he said.
ICAO has directed questions to the government about Canada’s performance.
“The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program created by state aviation regulators to help them prioritize improving their safety oversight capabilities,” company spokesman William Raillant-Clark said.
The company also agreed to conduct a new audit in 2025, “taking into account the work done through Transport Canada to move closer to ICAO’s foreign standards,” the ministry said.
Registered by The Canadian Press
Exclusive access to Canadian travel industry news, promotions, jobs, FAMs and more.
Subscribe now