ICAO, its Annexes and its Docs

Free lesson · Air Regulations · DGCA CPL and ATPL

How ICAO is built, what a State must do with its Standards, and a memory trick for every Annex and the Docs examiners like.

What is ICAO for and how is it organised?

ICAO

Four views of ICAO: who sits where, where it works, what it publishes, why it exists.

ICAO runs on its own, and since 1947 it has also been a specialised agency of the UN, reporting to the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its main parts are an Assembly, a Council and some working bodies.

  • ICAO runs on its own, and since 1947 it has also been a specialised agency of the UN, reporting to the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its main parts are an Assembly, a Council and some working bodies.
  • Seats
  • Who sits where
  • Every dot is one member State. Tap the numbered steps to watch ICAO's bodies form.
  • Assembly
  • Every member country has a seat and one vote. It is ICAO's highest body and meets at least once every three years.
  • Assembly · {n} members, one vote each
  • 193 members
  • incl. the Cook Islands
  • All the UN member countries, plus the Cook Islands, which belongs to ICAO even though it is not a UN member. Its seat is ringed on the chart.
  • Not members
  • Liechtenstein, Niue, Tuvalu…
  • Liechtenstein, Niue, Tuvalu, Vatican City and States with limited recognition. They are the empty seats outside the chamber.
  • Council
  • The Assembly elects 36 countries to the Council, ICAO's governing board. The Council elects its own President, adopts the Standards and appoints the bodies below.
  • Council · {n} States elected by the Assembly
  • Air Navigation Commission
  • 19 members appointed by the Council. They work out the technical detail of the rules. Drawn as squares: they are people, not countries.
  • Air Navigation Commission · {n} members
  • Committees
  • Working groups appointed by the Council. Tap each one for its size.
  • {n} committees, appointed by the Council
  • Air Transport Committee
  • Appointed by the Council.
  • Legal Committee
  • Joint Support of Air Navigation Services
  • 9 to 11 members
  • Between 9 and 11 members, appointed by the Council.
  • Finance Committee
  • 9 to 13 members
  • Between 9 and 13 members, appointed by the Council.
  • Unlawful Interference
  • 15 members
  • The committee that deals with unlawful interference (hijacking, sabotage and similar). The Council appoints its 15 members.
  • Secretariat
  • ICAO's permanent staff, led by a Secretary-General whom the Council appoints. Five bureaus (departments): tap a door or a name.
  • Secretariat · {n} bureaus
  • Air Navigation Bureau
  • One of the five bureaus of the Secretariat.
  • Air Transport Bureau
  • Technical Assistance Bureau
  • Legal Bureau
  • Bureau of Administration and Services
  • Offices
  • Where ICAO works
  • Headquarters in Montreal and seven regional offices serving nine regions. Tap a row.
  • City
  • Region served
  • ICAO's world headquarters.
  • ICAO regional office for Asia and Pacific.
  • ICAO regional office for Middle East.
  • ICAO regional office for Western and Central Africa.
  • ICAO regional office for South America.
  • ICAO regional office for North America, Central America and Caribbean.
  • ICAO regional office for Eastern and Southern Africa.
  • ICAO regional office for Europe and North Atlantic.
  • 7 offices, 9 regions
  • Seven regional offices serve ICAO's nine regions.
  • RAN meetings
  • Regional Air Navigation meetings, held from time to time to look at what flights need in a particular part of the world.
  • Rulebooks
  • What ICAO publishes
  • Drag the slider or tap a book. The thick ones are rules countries must follow; they thin out into guidance.
  • Must follow
  • Guidance
  • Standards
  • in the Annexes · necessary
  • Adopted by the Council and kept in the Annexes. Countries must apply them, for safety or regularity. A country that cannot must tell ICAO (Article 38).
  • Recommended Practices
  • in the Annexes · desirable
  • Also in the Annexes. Desirable rather than necessary: countries should apply them, and the Council has asked to be told of differences.
  • PANS
  • approved by the Council
  • Procedures for Air Navigation Services, approved by the Council for worldwide use. Procedures not yet mature enough to be Standards, or too detailed or changed too often for an Annex.
  • SUPPs
  • like PANS, for one region
  • Regional Supplementary Procedures. Like PANS, approved by the Council, but used only in their own region.
  • Technical manuals
  • guidance on applying the rules
  • Guidance that explains the Standards, Recommended Practices and PANS in more detail, to help countries put them into practice.

Takeaway: Assembly of all States, a 36-State Council, committees it appoints, and a Secretariat. 193 members, headquarters Montreal.

What must a State do about ICAO's Standards?

Making SARPs

From adoption to a difference being known to every State.

  1. ICAO adopts SARPs Arts 37, 54 and 90 ICAO's Council writes the rules, called Standards and Recommended Practices, and adopts them as Annexes to the Convention.
  2. States aim for uniformity Art. 37 Each country works to make its own rules as close to ICAO's as it practically can, so a pilot meets the same rules everywhere.
  3. Cannot comply notify ICAO immediately If a country finds it cannot follow a Standard, it must tell ICAO straight away. The gap between its rule and ICAO's is called a 'difference'.
  4. Amended Standard 60 days If ICAO changes a Standard and a country will not adopt the change, the country has 60 days from the change being adopted to tell the Council, or to say what it plans to do.
  5. Council tells all States immediately The Council immediately tells every other country about the difference, so pilots and airlines know what to expect there.
  6. Recommended Practices too invited, not required Nothing forces countries to report differences from Recommended Practices, but the Council has asked them to do so anyway.

Memory hook: Can't comply: tell them now. Amended Standard: sixty days.

Takeaway: Cannot comply: tell ICAO immediately. Amended Standard not adopted: 60 days. The Council then notifies every other State.

Which Annex covers what?

Annexes

Nineteen cards, one per Annex. Watch the picture, read the trick, guess the name, then reveal it.

The 19 Annexes hold ICAO's Standards and Recommended Practices. Annexes 2, 5, 7 and 8 have Standards only.

  • Personnel Licensing Licences for the people: flight crew, air traffic controllers and maintenance staff.
  • Rules of the Air The traffic rules of the sky. Standards only. Links to Article 12: over the high seas (open ocean belonging to no country), these rules apply.
  • Meteorological Service Weather (meteorological) services for international air navigation.
  • Aeronautical Charts The maps pilots use.
  • Units of Measurement Which units to use in the air and on the ground. Standards only.
  • Operation of Aircraft How aircraft are operated: commercial flights, general aviation (private and other non-airline flying) and helicopters.
  • Nationality and Registration Marks The letters painted on an aircraft that show its country and registration. Standards only, no Recommended Practices.
  • Airworthiness of Aircraft Airworthy means fit and safe to fly. This Annex sets those standards. Standards only, no Recommended Practices.
  • Facilitation Making border crossings smooth: customs, immigration and clearance.
  • Aeronautical Telecommunications Radio and communication systems for aviation, in five volumes (I to V).
  • Air Traffic Services Air traffic control, flight information and alerting (calling for help when an aircraft is in trouble).
  • Search and Rescue Finding and helping aircraft in distress.
  • Accident and Incident Investigation How aircraft accidents and incidents are investigated.
  • Aerodromes Volume I covers aerodrome (airport) design and operation; Volume II covers heliports.
  • Aeronautical Information Services Getting information to pilots: the AIP (each country's aviation handbook) and NOTAMs (notices of changes, such as a closed runway).
  • Environmental Protection Aircraft noise and engine emissions.
  • Security Protecting aviation against unlawful interference, such as hijacking and sabotage.
  • Dangerous Goods by Air Carrying dangerous goods (things like chemicals or batteries that could cause harm) safely by air.
  • Safety Management Managing safety in an organised way: each country's State Safety Programme and each organisation's SMS (Safety Management System).

Takeaway: Learn each number with its subject. Favourites: Annex 2 Rules of the Air, Annex 14 Aerodromes, Annex 17 Security.

Which ICAO Doc is which?

ICAO Docs

ICAO manuals, called Docs, go by number. Tap one to see its subject. Starred ones are exam favourites.

  • PANS-ATM 4444 The procedures air traffic controllers follow. Probably the most-asked Doc.
  • Regional SUPPs 7030 The extra procedures that apply only in one region.
  • Abbreviations and codes 8400 The list of ICAO abbreviations and codes.
  • Aircraft operations 8168 The procedures for operating aircraft.
  • Location indicators 7910 The four-letter codes that name each aerodrome and station.
  • Operator designators 8585 The codes (designators) used for airlines, aviation authorities and aviation services.
  • Aircraft type designators 8643 Aircraft type designators.
  • AIS manual 8126 Aeronautical Information Service Manual.
  • Aeronautical chart manual 8697 Aeronautical Chart Manual.
  • Met procedures manual 8896 Manual of Aeronautical Meteorological Procedure.
  • AIS provided by States 7383 Aeronautical information services provided by States.
  • Chart catalogue 7101 Aeronautical Chart Catalogue.
  • Airport and facility tariffs 7100 A manual on what airports and air navigation services may charge.
  • SAR manual 7333 Search and Rescue Manual.
  • Radiotelephony 9432 How pilots and controllers talk on the radio.
  • Airport services 9137 Airport Service Manual.
  • ATS planning 9426 Air Traffic Services Planning Manual.
  • WGS-84 9674 World Geodetic System 1984 manual.
  • Volcanic ash 9691 Volcanic ash, radioactive material and toxic chemical clouds.
  • Interception 9433 Manual concerning interception of civil aircraft.
  • Military activities 9554 Safety measures for military activities hazardous to civil aircraft.
  • RNP 9613 Manual on RNP (with the RNAV manual).
  • Accident/incident reporting 9156 Accident/Incident Reporting Manual.
  • Accident investigation 6920 Manual of Aircraft Accident Investigation.
  • Accident prevention 9422 Accident Prevention Manual.
  • Aerodromes, routes, aids 9342 Aerodromes, air routes and ground aids.
  • Global Air Navigation Plan 9750 ICAO's world plan for communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS/ATM).
  • GNSS 9849 Global Navigation Satellite System Manual.
  • Mode S 9688 Manual on Mode S specific services.
  • Testing radio aids 8071 Manual on testing of radio navigation aids.
  • SSR 9684 Manual on the Secondary Surveillance Radar systems.
  • ATS data link 9694 Manual of ATS data link applications.
  • PANS-Aerodromes 9981 PANS Aerodromes.
  • PANS-AIM 10066 PANS Aeronautical Information Management.
  • ISO standard ISO 8402 Listed in the book alongside the ICAO Docs: ISO Standard 8402.

Takeaway: Learn the favourites: 4444 PANS-ATM, 8168 aircraft operations, 7030 SUPPs, 9432 radiotelephony, 7910 location indicators.