ICAO endorses Saudi Arabia’s Harmonising Air Travel policy

The Assembly requested ICAO’s Council “To prioritise the development of such a framework”, in line with support from the Arab Civil Aviation Organization, and other countries including Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Spain.

The HAT policy will significantly improve the global aviation sector’s resilience by enabling passengers to easily understand and navigate future health requirements in different nations through a universally recognized health requirement framework that simplifies the air passenger journey and experience.

Abdulaziz Al-Dualij, President of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA), said: “The policy exemplifies Saudi Arabia’s commitment to providing aviation leadership and our willingness to work with operators and multilateral bodies everywhere to drive innovation and progress. The policy also presents a real opportunity to ensure the global aviation industry becomes more resilient, which will not only benefit the sector but also passengers across the globe.

“This policy is the solution the aviation industry requires,” he said. “It will restore vital passenger confidence, while at the same time enabling businesses throughout the industry to have the clarity needed to make crucial commercial decisions.”

“This milestone advances the Saudi Aviation Strategy’s vision for the Kingdom to lead in the Middle East, including through global and policy thought leadership. The sector transformation of approximately $100 billion will extend the Kingdom’s connectivity to 250 destinations, treble annual passenger traffic to 330 million and increase annual cargo volumes to 4.5 million tons, in line with Vision 2030 and the National Transport and Logistics Strategy.”