The ICAO European and North Atlantic Regional Office (ICAO EUR/NAT) hosted the eleventh meeting of the EUR Search and Rescue Task Force (EUR SAR TF/11) on September 15th and 16th, 2022, gathering experts to advance search and rescue operations within the Eur In Sar context of the European region.
Delegates from 18 States and 4 international organizations convene at the EUR SAR TF/11 meeting to discuss and enhance European Search and Rescue (EUR SAR) framework and operational effectiveness.
Mr. Nicolas Rallo, the ICAO EUR/NAT Regional Director, inaugurated the session by expressing his gratitude to the 34 participants, representing 18 States and 4 international bodies, including EUROCONTROL, the European Commission, and the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme. He underscored the Regional Office’s main priorities concerning Search and Rescue, emphasizing the critical need to strengthen safety oversight across the region. This is essential to ensure all States are meeting their responsibilities as outlined in Annex 12 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the EUR SAR Plan (EUR Doc 039), which are vital for effective eur in sar operations.
A significant achievement of the EUR SAR TF is the development of comprehensive guidance material designed to tackle the complexities of overseeing effective SAR systems. This resource has been made publicly available on the ICAO EUR/NAT webpage, featuring key documents such as:
The EUR SAR TF/11 reaffirmed its commitment to actively implementing these EUR documents. This initiative is aimed at significantly improving the Search and Rescue capabilities of States within the region, ensuring a robust and coordinated approach to eur in sar challenges.
Furthermore, participants at the EUR SAR TF/11 meeting examined the latest ICAO regulations concerning the Global Aeronautical Distress & Safety System (GADSS), which includes Autonomous Distress Tracking (ADT). To comply with GADSS ADT requirements, aircraft will need to be equipped with Emergency Locator Transmitters designed for distress tracking (ELT (DT)). Recognizing the importance of timely distress signal processing for eur in sar effectiveness, the EUR SAR TF/11 participants concurred on the necessity of establishing a robust communication infrastructure. This infrastructure will be crucial for processing and transmitting ELT (DT) signals efficiently to SAR points of contact (SPOC) in various EUR States. A key component of this initiative is the implementation of a Location of Aircraft in Distress Repository (LADR) to facilitate the collection and sharing of ADT data, thereby enhancing the eur in sar response network.
Updates on the progress of the EUR SAR Task Force’s work will be presented at the upcoming meeting of the ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group on harmonization of aeronautical and maritime Search and Rescue (ICAO/IMO JWG-SAR), scheduled for October 16-21, 2022. This continued collaboration highlights the ongoing efforts to strengthen and harmonize search and rescue operations within the eur in sar framework and globally.
