Montréal, 7 January 2021 - The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) welcomed the announcement this week on the easing of Gulf airspace restrictions.
"This resolution to the former Gulf airspace restrictions will help assure that the important socio-economic benefits of international air connectivity can be better optimized among all the countries concerned," commented Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano.
"ICAO's role is to work with and among sovereign States to ensure more open skies globally, and continuously improving levels of aviation safety, security, and sustainability."
ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu also welcomed the new developments from the Gulf, recalling that the ICAO Secretariat, through its Regional Office in Cairo, had rapidly established contingency routes to ensure the safety and regularity of international flights in and out of Qatar when the restrictions were first imposed.
"We were grateful to fulfil this important role when called upon," she noted, "and to help assure that international air transport in the affected areas remained as safe, secure, and efficient as possible while the restrictions were in force."
