More than 350 representatives from 37 countries and areas are to attend the 72nd International Aviation Safety Summit (IASS), which opens on Monday in Taipei.
This is the first time that the nation is hosting the summit, which is jointly organized by the nation’s China Aviation Development Foundation and the US’ Flight Safety Foundation (FSF).
The summit is a vital global event for civil aviation industry representatives to exchange views on some of the urgent air safety issues facing the industry since 1947.
Taiwan last year received the right to host the event.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications and foundation chairman Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that the 350 participants represent 138 government and non-governmental agencies — from the US Federal Aviation Administration and NASA, to aircraft manufacturers, parts suppliers, airline executives and airport companies.
Among the participating countries and areas, 14 are sending representatives of government agencies. Aside from Taiwan, they are: France, Japan, the US, Australia, the EU, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Turkey, Belize, Paraguay, Borneo, and St Kitts and Nevis.
Beijing is not sending an official representative, nor would Hong Kong’s Cathay Dragon and Cathay Pacific Airways, Wang said.
However, GE China and Hong Kong-based Bellawings Jet are sending company executives who are Chinese nationals to the summit, he said.
“Aviation safety and politics should be treated as separate matters. All countries around the world should not miss any opportunities to share their experiences in handling aviation safety issues,” Wang said.
“We hope the summit will be an opportunity for the world to see Taiwan, particularly our efforts in enhancing flight safety. It will also allow more people to know about Taiwan and realize that the nation should not be excluded from participating in the International Civil Aviation Organization” (ICAO), he added.
Taiwan was not invited to this year’s ICAO Assembly due to objections from Beijing.
EVA Airways chief executive vice president Danny Ho (何慶生), a member of FSF’s board of governors since 2016, said that China Airlines and EVA would present the results of their research into aviation safety issues during the summit.
EVA would show how it takes into account the generation gap in its training of pilots, while China Airlines would showcase its efforts to apply artificial intelligence to flight data analyses.
EVA has also developed a flight operations risk assessment system mobile app, with an iOS version available for download, Ho said.
The summit would hold discussions about uncrewed aerial vehicle safety and how they affect aviation safety, the foundation said, adding that it is expected to be a popular topic at the summit as the nation is set to implement regulations governing drone management on March 31.
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