Minister Garneau endorses the Safer Skies Commitment to aviation safety and security during Safer Skies Forum 

December 9, 2020                  Ottawa              Transport Canada

Canada and its international partners are united in their commitment to improve the safety of air travel since the tragic shooting down of the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 in Iran in January 2020.

Yesterday, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, delivered opening remarks at the first annual Safer Skies Forum, hosted virtually by Transport Canada. The Safer Skies Forum is the first international forum focused on civilian aviation safety over conflict zones. The Safer Skies Forum brought together participants from 81 countries and regions, international organizations, and the civil aviation industry. Guest speakers discussed the current threat environment, shared lessons learned and exchanged best practices to forge ahead to reduce risks for aircraft flying near or over conflict zones.

During his address, Minister Garneau urged countries who had not already done so to endorse the Safer Skies Commitment Statement, a global commitment to advance aviation safety and security. The Statement reinforces the importance of safe civil aviation operations worldwide, and calls on countries to renew their commitment to a global approach to addressing risk from conflict zones. The Minister noted the endorsement of the United States, Germany, Ukraine, France, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, Iceland, Georgia, Netherlands, Japan, Greece, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, and the International Air Transport Association, and looks forward to further endorsements in the weeks to come.