Renewed Safer Skies Commitment Statement

Five years after the establishment of the Safer Skies Initiative in February 2020, the global civil aviation community continues to work diligently towards improving the safety and security of civilian flight operations over or near conflict zones. With the rise in number and complexity of armed conflicts, civil aviation incidents related to conflict zones—in particular these involving anti-aviation weaponry—have become the leading cause of commercial-aviation deaths in the last decade, highlighting the vital importance of further addressing the continued risks to civilian aircraft flying over or near conflict zones.

The Safer Skies Consultative Committee (SSCC) and its partners, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), have collaborated closely to advance the action items outlined in the Safer Skies Commitment Statement presented by Canada’s Minister of Transport at the 1st Safer Skies Forum, in December 2020. The following achievements highlight the work conducted over that period:

• The SSCC developed multilateral information sharing mechanisms, both for rapid activation during crisis situations, and to provide regular, baseline awareness to industry.
• The SSCC organized and delivered the Safer Skies Forum, the first ever global event solely dedicated to conflict zone risk management, in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
• In collaboration with ICAO, the SSCC undertook the review of ICAO Doc 10084 Risk Assessment Manual for Civil Aircraft Operations Over or Near Conflict Zones, which now also includes guidance on information sharing, criteria for airspace closure, assessment of airspace post-conflict and additional risk mitigations.
• Following the publication of the 3rd edition of Doc 10084, the SSCC and ICAO collaborated on the development and delivery of Regional Awareness Seminars on the guidance document. These seminars are now being delivered in all ICAO regions.
• The SSCC has grown to represent every region of the world, creating more opportunities for civil aviation stakeholders to collaborate and foster strong relationships that serve as the foundation for effective information sharing during emerging threat situations.
• Although conflicts have expanded globally and incidents continue to occur in the areas affected by military operations, we have seen signs of better civil airspace management practices by States and stakeholders. Instances such as a States experiencing conflict proactively issuing airspace restrictions, States issuing a NOTAM on behalf of their neighbors and enhanced regional coordination of airspace closures in times of increased tensions serve as inspiring examples of effective conflict zone risk mitigation. Whilst this is positive, we collectively need to do more to achieve a greater level of maturity and consistency in order to prevent further incidents.

Building on the progress of the last five years, the SSCC is committed to sustaining its efforts to ensure the safety and security of civil aviation operations over or near conflict zones. To that end, the SSCC commits to:

• Deliver Regional Awareness Seminars in all regions of the world over the next year, in collaboration with ICAO.
• Submit a working paper at ICAO’s 2025 Assembly to recommend further in-depth review of Doc 10084 to reflect the rapidly evolving nature of conflicts and associated risk assessment and mitigation best practices, as well as lessons learned while delivering the Regional Awareness Seminars. The SSCC would also commit to lending its expertise in support of the review process of the guidance document.

Recognizing that further action to avoid other tragedies requires strengthened international cooperation, national procedures and air operators’ engagement, the undersigned endeavor to:

1. Adhere to relevant ICAO Standards And Recommended Practices (SARPs) regarding conflict zone risk management;
2. Enhance Civil-Military coordination and airspace deconfliction with regards to civil operations over or near conflict zones;
3. Strengthen information sharing practices between regulators and carriers to support safe and secure civil aviation operations;
4. Foster collaborative relationships between key stakeholders—including regional partners, neighboring States, and industry—to enhance crisis response coordination, when necessary; and,
5. Consider supporting—either financially or in kind—the development, promotion or deployment of capacity building initiatives on Aviation Safety and Security in Conflict Zones.

We, the undersigned, have decided to work towards implementation of the action items outlined above. To this end, the Safer Skies Consultative Committee will serve as the founding international platform to advance the actions set forth in this Statement.

Signed April 8, Marrakech, Kingdom of Morocco

This statement was endorsed by the following States and Organizations:

States

Organizations