– Caricom Secretary General says at CASSOS meeting
Representatives of the United States Federal Aviation Administration, the Western Hemisphere, and of the board of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), met at the CARICOM Secretariat Thursday to commence the first meeting since the formal launching of CASSOS in February 2009. Among the gathering were new members of the board representing Jamaica and members states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) whom the Secretary General challenged to guide CASSOS in its primary activities and objectives, assisting states in promoting safety and security in civil aviation.
Among its functions, CASSOS is tasked with supporting the investigation of aircraft accidents and incidents which Dr. Carrington listed in recent years, as he highlighted the need for states to achieve and maintain the full capacity to discharge the international obligation to civil aviation oversight.
“CASSOS, as a regional institution, has played, continues to play, and is expected to play a major role in enabling CARICOM states meet their obligation – in the area of sharing skilled aviation personnel, harmonization of standards, regulation and certification processes, joint training and the provision of technical guides,” Dr Carrington said.
Civil aviation safety and security is becoming more compelling, according to Dr. Carrington, who chronicled the many terrorist threats to aviation security since the 911 attacks in the US, threats which he said are getting closer to home.
Among them were the attempt to ignite plastic explosives onboard the North West Airline flight in December 2009, and the recent attempt at hijacking an aircraft in Jamaica.
“CARICOM member states therefore need to be vigilant and communicate with one another and together with other states,” the Secretary General said.
A major critical challenge which faces the community’s aviation agenda at present, and which the Secretary General said must be addressed, is the application of an Air Passenger Duty (ATD) by the United Kingdom (UK) which Dr. Carrington said discriminates against Caribbean air travellers from the UK to Caribbean destinations in comparison with travellers to further destinations in North America and beyond.
“The ATD will hurt the region’s tourism sector. We must leave no stone unturned to secure the removal of this discriminatory application,” Dr Carrington said.
The CASSOS meeting began with a solemn reminder of the many stalwarts of the Caribbean aviation fraternity who lost their lives in the earthquake which struck Haiti in January this year.
These stalwarts were representatives of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority, the Civil Aviation of Curacao.