ICAO Celebrates 80 Years of the Chicago Convention

DALLAS — The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) commemorated the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. This pivotal moment laid the foundation for a unified global aviation system emphasizing safety and collaboration.

On December 7, 1944, as WWII still raged, representatives from 52 nations gathered in Chicago to sign the convention, pledging to create a global body for civil aviation. Two years later, ICAO was formally established following the ratification of the agreement by 26 member states.

The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the ICAO as the specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating international air travel. The Convention establishes rules for airspace, aircraft registration, safety, security, and sustainability and details the rights of the signatories concerning air travel. It also contains provisions pertaining to taxation.

The signing was a pivotal moment that ushered a new world where aviation would "serve as bridge between nations and peoples rather than an instrument of conflict as it was during the war," as stated by Salvatore Sciacchitano, the sixth and current President of the ICAO Council—a diplomatic achievement to say the least.

Today, the organization boasts 193 member countries, clocking from fewer than 9 million passengers in 1945 to 4.5 billion in 2024. This growth embodies the principles of multilateralism and underscores the global significance of aviation 80 years on.

This week, ICAO celebrated this milestone at the Hilton Chicago Hotel—formerly the Stevens Hotel—the very site where the convention was signed. The two-day event featured the theme, "Safe Skies. Sustainable Future: Together for the next 80 years," underscoring ICAO’s achievements while envisioning its future role in advancing global aviation.

The celebration included an extraordinary session of ICAO's governing Council and a series of high-level roundtable discussions. These interactive sessions brought together leaders from governments, industry, academia, regional organizations, and NGOs alongside representatives from the United Nations.

Among the prominent speakers were U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker.

Today, ICAO’s Long-Term Strategic Plan prioritizes emissions reduction, environmental protection, and the “No Country Left Behind” initiative, which aligns with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.

Global Aviation in the Making

Below are some important articles from the first meeting of the Chicago Convention that seem like commonplace or common-sense principles today:

• ‍Article 1: Every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over airspace above its territory.‍
• Article 3 bis: Every other state must refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.‍
• Article 5: The aircraft of states, other than scheduled international air services, have the right to make flights across state's territories and to make stops without obtaining prior permission. However, the state may require the aircraft to make a landing.‍
• Article 6: (Scheduled air services) No scheduled international air service may be operated over or into the territory of a contracting State, except with the special permission or other authorization of that State.‍
• Article 10: (Landing at customs airports): The state can require that landing to be at a designated customs airport and similarly departure from the territory can be required to be from a designated customs airport.‍
• Article 12: Each state shall keep its own rules of the air as uniform as possible with those established under the convention, the duty to ensure compliance with these rules rests with the contracting state.‍
• Article 13: (Entry and Clearance Regulations) A state's laws and regulations regarding the admission and departure of passengers, crew or cargo from aircraft shall be complied with on arrival, upon departure and whilst within the territory of that state.‍
• Article 16: The authorities of each state shall have the right to search the aircraft of other states on landing or departure, without unreasonable delay.‍
• Article 24: Aircraft on a flight to, from, or across the territory of another contracting State shall be admitted temporarily free of duty, subject to the customs regulations of the State. Fuel, lubricating oils, spare parts, regular equipment and aircraft stores on board an aircraft of a contracting State, on arrival in the territory of another contracting State and retained on board on leaving the territory of that State shall be exempt from customs duty, inspection fees or similar national or local duties and charges. This exemption shall not apply to any quantities or articles unloaded, except in accordance with the customs regulations of the State, which may require that they shall be kept under customs supervision.‍
• Article 29: Before an international flight, the pilot in command must ensure that the aircraft is airworthy, duly registered and that the relevant certificates are on board the aircraft. The required documents are:
  • Certificate of registration‍
  • ‍Certificate of airworthiness
  • Passenger names, place of boarding and destination
  • Crew licenses
  • Journey Logbook
  • Radio Licence
  • Cargo manifest‍
• Article 30: The aircraft of a state flying in or over the territory of another state shall only carry radios licensed and used in accordance with the regulations of the state in which the aircraft is registered. The radios may only be used by members of the flight crew suitably licensed by the state in which the aircraft is registered.‍
• Article 32: The pilot and crew of every aircraft engaged in international aviation must have certificates of competency and licensees issued or validated by the state in which the aircraft is registered.‍
• Article 33: (Recognition of Certificates and Licences) Certificates of airworthiness, certificates of competency and licensees issued or validated by the state in which the aircraft is registered, shall be recognized as valid by other states. The requirements for the issuing of those certificates or airworthiness, certificates of competency or licensees must be equal to or above the minimum standards established by the convention.‍
• Article 40: No aircraft or personnel with endorsed licenses or certificate will engage in international navigation except with the permission of the state or states whose territory is entered. Any license holder who does not satisfy international standard relating to that license or certificate shall have attached to or endorsed on that license information regarding the particulars in which he does not satisfy those standards.

Featured image: Signing of the agreement founding the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Chicago in 1944, with Max Hymans on the right.