Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada Spearheading Effort To Better Protect Airborne Passenger Flights

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Mar, 2020 08:13 PM

    WASHINGTON - Canada is spearheading what Transport Minister Marc Garneau hopes will become an international effort to protect civilian airliners around the world from being shot down over conflict zones.

     

    In a speech today in Washington, Garneau is introducing what he's calling the Strategy for Safer Skies — a Canadian-led multilateral effort to ensure passenger aircraft are better able to avoid dangerous airspace.

     

    Canada has been seized with the issue ever since the downing of a Ukraine International Airlines flight in early January in the skies over Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard — 55 of them Canadian.

     

    Garneau is also pointing to a similar tragedy in 2014 over Ukraine as further evidence that something needs to be done.

     

    He says the goal is to establish co-ordination and information-sharing efforts between like-minded countries to improve risk assessments, guidance for avoiding dangerous airspace and airline protocols and practices.

     

    The hope is to establish a system that, with the help of the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization, might eventually be adopted by countries around the world, particularly in areas where conflicts are more common.

     

    "Each state's airspace is sovereign; that is not in dispute. But in order to prevent another tragedy, we need to deal with inconsistencies, and in order to deal with inconsistencies in how the rules are implemented, we need a new approach," Garneau said in a prepared version of his speech.

     

    "To protect our citizens who travel throughout the interconnected global aviation network, we need to take action now."

     

    Garneau says the initiative already has the support of the United States, where the Federal Aviation Administration operates an existing "Notice to Airmen" system designed to keep U.S. pilots and carriers apprised of potential dangers.

     

    In an interview, Garneau said in the wake of the Jan. 8 tragedy in Iran, Canada has already issued two notices of its own for airlines to avoid Libyan and Syrian airspace.

     

    "We're already beginning to put into practice some of the things we think will be part of the Safer Skies strategy."

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Search And Rescue To Join Police Looking For Nirla Sharma In New Westminster B.C.

    The team, from Coquitlam, says in a social media post that members have been asked to assist the New Westminster Police Department in the search for Nirla Sharma.

    Search And Rescue To Join Police Looking For Nirla Sharma In New Westminster B.C.

    Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs To Meet Today With Federal And B.C. Governments

    HOUSTON, B.C. - A meeting between Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and the federal and British Columbia government is expected to take place today.    

    Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs To Meet Today With Federal And B.C. Governments

    Ottawa's LRT Line Leaves Thousands Out In The Cold During Heavy Snowstorm

    OTTAWA - Many transit riders in Ottawa were left out in the cold during a heavy snowstorm after serious power issues on the city's beleaguered new light-rail system ground service to a snail's pace Thursday.    

    Ottawa's LRT Line Leaves Thousands Out In The Cold During Heavy Snowstorm

    Quebec Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Sex Worker While Out On Day Parole

    Quebec Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Sex Worker While Out On Day Parole
    QUEBEC - A man sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for the murder of his partner has pleaded guilty to killing a sex worker while out on day parole.    

    Quebec Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Sex Worker While Out On Day Parole

    RCMP To Stop Providing Security For Prince Harry And Meghan: Minister

    Public Safety Canada says the RCMP has been providing security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since November, but plans to stop in coming weeks.

    RCMP To Stop Providing Security For Prince Harry And Meghan: Minister

    New Westminster Police Request For Witnesses In The Investigation Of High Risk Missing Person – NIRLA SHARMA

    The New Westminster Police Department is looking for any witnesses regarding the disappearance of 44-year-old New Westminster resident Nirla Sharma. Mrs.

    New Westminster Police Request For Witnesses In The Investigation Of High Risk Missing Person – NIRLA SHARMA