1st November 1944 saw the beginning of the convention of Chicago. 52 countries around the world attended.
This event is considered to be the most important convention relating to Aeronautical Law as it served to establish the guidelines for continuing growth of aviation after Second World War.
It was also agreed to create the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO or OACI, for its Spanish abbreviation.
7th December 1944, during the Chicago Convention, the agreement on International Civil Aviation was signed. It served as a starting point for the creation of the ICAO.
But it wasn’t until almost three years afterwards that the International Civil Aviation Organisation was established, 4th April 1947.
Belonging to UN´s organisation, it originally had 55 countries united, whereas nowadays, it is more than 190 nations that make up the organisation.
ICAO is comprised of a sovereign body, the Assembly, and of a governing body, the Council.
The Assembly has to meet at least every three years. This meeting is called by the Council. Each contracting state has the right to vote and decisions are taken by majority.
The Council is a permanent body, it is accountable for the Assembly and is formed by 36 member countries for the duration of three years.
The ICAO has regional offices whose objective is facilitating the planning and implementation of new projects. These offices are as follows: Africa-Indic Ocean (AFI), Asia (ASIA), Caribbean (CAR), Europe (EUR), Middle East (MID), North America (NAM), North Atlantic (NAT), Pacific (PAC) and South America (SAM).
Did you know Spain has been, uninterruptedly, part of the Council since 1951?
On the 41st Assembly which will take place in September, our country aspires to be elected again for a new three-year mandate. It is, concretely, within the group of countries who have mostly contributed to providing services and facilities for the navigation of international civil aviation. You can check out Spain’s candidacy for ICAO through the link.
The importance of Spain in ICAO is due to having been massive defenders of safety development and efficiency in aviation since the beginning of the organisation.
Spain also meets the role of world leader in tourism, occupying the second place in the rank of countries which receive the most tourists each year.
The main purpose of ICAO is the administration of the main principles established in the agreement.
For example, the nine Freedoms of the Air ensure that the airlines of a given country are entitled to fly across the territory of another country and land in it. Following is a listing of these:
