A Word From Our Director General
Kurt Edwards
At the close of November, elections for ICAO’s two most senior leadership posts took place. IBAC has congratulated both:
- Amb. Toshiyuki Onuma of Japan as President-elect of the ICAO Council and
- Capt. Frédéric Fachinan of Canada as President-elect of the Air Navigation Commission.
Each is recognized as an accomplished leader within ICAO. Amb. Onuma has been serving as Japan’s Representative to the Council. Capt. Fachinan has been the Air Navigation Commissioner nominated by Canada. We look forward to working with them in their new leadership roles.
Outside of ICAO, the concept of a global solidarity levy on aviation did not get much lift at the COP30 meeting in Belem, Brazil, in November. The Global Solidarity Levy Task Force, an informal, small subset of States at the UNFCCC meeting, netted only one new member to the Premium Flyers Coalition. IBAC with our partners across the industry will continue to monitor developments around this effort in 2026.
As we close out 2025, allow me to thank our Member Associations, Industry Partners, and the committed-to-safety-excellence participants in the IS-BAH and IS-BAO Programmes. It has been a dynamic year for IBAC, from the development of the CORE Risk Management framework to IBAC’s largest ever business aviation delegation at an ICAO Assembly and the important growth of and engagement with our Industry Partners. IBAC greatly appreciates your support and participation and looks forward to even more collaboration in 2026 and beyond.
Last but not least, allow me to thank Mr. Ali Alnaqbi, outgoing Chairman of the IBAC Governing Board. Ali has served two terms as Chairman from January 2020. He led us through the COVID pandemic and guided our growth and increasing engagement and visibility thereafter. He has provided valuable insights these last six years, for which I am grateful. He will remain on the Board as MEBAA’s representative, so we will still have access to his sage counsel. Mr. Juergen Wiese, from EBAA, is the incoming Chairman of the IBAC Governing Board from January. He will be joined by James Elian, of the CBAA, as Vice Chair. I look forward to working with them both in the new year.
Reminder: The IBAC offices will be closed for the holidays from 25 December through 2 January 2026. Best Wishes to all for a safe and happy holiday season.
ICAO and Sustainability
Capt. Claude Hurley, Director, Environment & Flight Operations
The ICAO calendar was especially full in November, with the Council, Air Navigation Commission (ANC), and Technical Panels all aiming to progress on their respective 2025 work programmes.
– IBAC participated in the 12th Plenary meeting of the Flight Operations Panel (FLTOPSP) recently held in Montréal. The FLTOPSP, like all ICAO Technical Panels, is tasked with reaching consensus and developing Standards & Recommended Practices (SARPs) within the remit of their area of expertise. In this meeting, the FLTOPSP held discussions on: runway overrun awareness and alerting systems; single pilot operations; altimeter setting error management; helo-specific safety risk management; airships; variable-noise reduction systems; electronic licenses & certificates; performance-based airport operating minima; the safe carriage of dangerous goods; radio communications failure procedures; and performance-based navigation.
– As this newsletter goes to press, the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) is holding its 2025 Steering Group (SG) meeting. It’s CAEP’s first opportunity to reflect on the outcomes of the recent ICAO Assembly, and to review the work assigned to CAEP’s many working groups. IBAC participates in both the CAEP SG and working groups, also nominating subject matter experts that can help guide and influence each group’s work. For example, IBAC has nominated five experts to WG5 (previously called the Fuels Task Group) as the increased availability and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) is critical to us collectively reaching our goals under the Business Aviation Commitment on Climate Change (BACCC).
– On the near horizon, the Advanced Air Mobility Study Group (AAM-SG) will hold its next meeting in Montréal. This group hopes to deliver a consensus – in an ICAO AAM vision document – on what’s needed to create a harmonized global regulatory framework to allow the safe integration of AAM into an already busy shared sky.
– On the ICAO governance side, as Kurt mentioned, Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano will be completing his term, and passing on the President’s gavel to his successor, Toshiyuki Onuma, recently elected by the Council for the 2026-2029 term. And we also congratulate Capt. Frédéric Fachinan, who was elected by the Council as the next Air Navigation Commission’s President, succeeding Junrong Liang.
Industry Partner Programme
Leo Knaapen, Head, Industry Partner Programme
– As we enter the final month of 2025 — a strong year for much of the global Business Aviation industry — IBAC Industry Partners continue to be laser-focused on achieving or exceeding their financial targets. For most IPP members — December traditionally is very important to achieving Q4 and year-end fiscal results.
– Similarly, 2025 has been a watershed year for the Industry Partner Programme:
- IPP Member Growth: 28 aviation organizations as at 30 November – including 12 new members registered in 2025.
- IAF Development:18 IPP members participated in our 4th Industry Advisory Forum session on 16 October – the largest turnout to date. IAF is gaining momentum, led by Chair Bruce Parry (Bombardier) and the newly elected Vice-Chair Bill Dolny (MedAire).
- ICAO Engagement: 12 delegates from nine IPP member organizations participated in the 42nd ICAO Assembly held 23 Sept – 03 Oct. And comprising exactly half of the largest IBAC delegation ever, at 24, to attend an ICAO Assembly.
On Deck: The “December Dash”, to achieve financial targets, followed by a new year with fresh challenges and perhaps new objectives. And hopefully – a precious bit of Holiday bliss in between – some quiet time for you with your families and friends. Enjoy it all.
IS-BAO
Andrew Karas, IS-BAO Programme Director
– Our Business Aviation Security course was recently held on 12–13 November with strong participation. Thanks to Dyami Security Intelligence for their support. Our next course is schedule for 2–3 February 2026—reserve your spot at https://tools.ibac.org/workshops/118/register
– IS-BAO Safety and Regulatory Affairs Manager, Stephane De Wolf represented the international business aviation community at the Eurocontrol-sponsored Just Culture Task Force, which helps ensure fair, clear processes for investigations arising from aviation incidents or which come to the attention of prosecutors through the reporting of civil aviation incidents.
– The next Ramp Inspection Bulletin will be released soon. IS-BAO Operators can access the latest statistics and trends in their IBAC portal account, helping with benchmark performance and plan improvements.
– FAA Part 5: For operators looking to incorporate FAA Part 5 into their SMS program, a supplement to the IS-BAO standard is now available in the IBAC portal. Login to the IBAC portal here: Home | International Business Aircraft Council
– IS-BAO Workshops are scheduled through April 2026. Enroll in IS-BAO Initial and Recurrent courses to keep your programs aligned and up-to-date. See dates and register at: https://tools.ibac.org/workshops
IS-BAH
Terry Yeomans, Programme Director
– The last IS-BAH Auditing workshop of the year is next week 9-10 December, and all workshops scheduled through June 2026 are available for reservations at https://tools.ibac.org/workshops
– Terry Yeomans is participating in this week’s ICAO Ground Handling Task Force meeting in Montreal and will provide updates upon his return.
– As 2025 comes to an end, the IS-BAH team expresses gratitude to all auditors and the registered ground handlers around the world for their commitment to safety and continuous improvement. Best wishes for the holidays.
