ICAO ANNEX 9 AMD 27 PDF

FOREWORD

Historical background

Standards and Recommended Practices on Facilitation were first adopted by the Council on 25 March 1949, pursuant to the provisions of Article 37 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago, 1944), and designated as Annex 9 to the Convention with the title “Standards and Recommended Practices — Facilitation”. They became effective on 1 September 1949. The Standards and Recommended Practices were based on recommendations of the First and Second Sessions of the Facilitation Division, held at Montréal in February 1946 and at Geneva in June 1948. They were expanded and amended comprehensively as a result of subsequent Sessions of the Division, i.e. the Third Session, held at Buenos Aires in December 1951, the Fourth Session, held at Manila in October 1955, the Fifth Session, held at Rome in December 1959, the Sixth Session, held at Mexico City in March-April 1963, the Seventh Session, held at Montréal in May 1968, the Eighth Session, held at Dubrovnik in March 1973, the Ninth Session held at Montréal in April-May 1979, the Tenth Session held at Montréal in September 1988 and the Eleventh Session held in Montréal in April 1995, and the Third Meeting of the Facilitation (FAL) Panel held in Montréal in February 2001. As a result of the Division’s and FAL Panel’s Recommendations for amendment of Annex 9 and Council’s action thereon, the Second Edition of Annex 9 became effective on 1 March 1953, the Third Edition on 1 November 1956, the Fourth Edition on 1 November 1960, the Fifth Edition on 1 April 1964, the Sixth Edition on 1 April 1969, the Seventh Edition on 15 April 1974, the Eighth Edition on 15 July 1980, the Ninth Edition on 15 November 1990, the Tenth Edition on 30 April 1997, the Eleventh Edition on 15 July 2002, the Twelfth Edition on 11 July 2005, the Thirteenth Edition on 18 July 2011 and the Fourteenth Edition on 25 October 2015.

Fifteenth Edition.— The present edition incorporates, inter alia, provisions arising from the Ninth Meeting of the FAL Panel held in Montréal in April 2016 on issues such as Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs), the transport of minors by air, passenger data exchange systems and the passenger manifest. This Fifteenth Edition of Annex 9 became effective on 23 October 2017 and became applicable on 23 February 2018. This edition also incorporates amendments arising from the Tenth Meeting of the FAL Panel held in Montréal in September 2018 on issues such as unaccompanied minors, the Passenger Data Single Window facility and trafficking in persons. Amendment 27 became effective on 21 October 2019 and is to become applicable on 21 February 2020.

The Standards and Recommended Practices on Facilitation are the outcome of Article 37 of the Convention, which provides, inter alia, that the “International Civil Aviation Organization shall adopt and amend from time to time, as may be necessary, international standards and recommended practices and procedures dealing with . . . customs and immigration procedures . . . and such other matters concerned with the safety, regularity and efficiency of air navigation as may from time to time appear appropriate”. The policy with respect to the implementation by States of the Standards and Recommended Practices on Facilitation is strengthened by Article 22 of the Convention, which expresses the obligation accepted by each Contracting State “to adopt all practicable measures, through the issuance of special regulations or otherwise, to facilitate and expedite navigation by aircraft between the territories of contracting States, and to prevent unnecessary delays to aircraft, crews, passengers and cargo, especially in the administration of the laws relating to immigration, quarantine, customs and clearance”, and by Article 23 of the Convention, which expresses the undertaking of each Contracting State “so far as it may find practicable, to establish customs and immigration procedures affecting international air navigation in accordance with the practices which may be established or recommended from time to time, pursuant to this Convention”.*

In addition to the Standards and Recommended Practices of Annex 9, the Organization’s FAL Programme is based on the FAL Resolutions of the Assembly and B-type recommendations of FAL Division Sessions which are those recommendations which do not suggest amendments to the Annex provisions.

Table A shows the origin of the amendments to the Annex together with a list of the principal subjects involved and the dates on which the Annex and the amendments were adopted by the Council, when they became effective and when they became applicable.

Applicability

As indicated in Chapter 1, Section B, the Standards and Recommended Practices in this document apply to all categories of aircraft operation except where a particular provision specifically refers to one type of operation without mentioning other types of operations.

The Standards and Recommended Practices on Facilitation inevitably take two forms: first a “negative” form, e.g. that States shall not impose more than certain maximum requirements in the way of paperwork, restrictions of freedom of movement, etc., and second a “positive” form, e.g. that States shall provide certain minimum facilities for passenger convenience, for traffic which is merely passing through, etc. Whenever a question arises under a “negative” provision, it is assumed that States will, wherever possible, relax their requirements below the maximum set forth in the Standards and Recommended Practices. Wherever there is a “positive” provision, it is assumed that States will, wherever possible, furnish more than the minimum set forth in the Standards and Recommended Practices.

Action by Contracting States

Notification of differences.

The attention of Contracting States is drawn to the obligation imposed by Article 38 of the Convention by which Contracting States are required to notify the Organization of any differences between their national regulations and practices and the International Standards contained in this Annex and any amendments thereto. Contracting States are invited to extend such notification of any differences from the Recommended Practices contained in this Annex, and any amendments thereto. Further, Contracting States are invited to keep the Organization currently informed of any differences which may subsequently occur, or of the withdrawal of any differences previously notified. A specific request for notification of differences will be sent to Contracting States immediately after the adoption of each Amendment to this Annex.

Attention of States is also drawn to the provision of Annex 15 related to the publication of significant differences between their national regulations and practices and the related ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices through the Aeronautical Information Service, in addition to the obligation of States under Article 38 of the Convention.

Promulgation of information. The establishment and withdrawal of and changes to facilities, services and procedures affecting aircraft operations provided in accordance with the Standards and Recommended Practices specified in this Annex should be notified and take effect in accordance with the provisions of Annex 15.

Contracting States should make every effort to publish the FAL information required by Annex 15 (as amplified by the Aeronautical Information Services Manual — Doc 8126) and, in particular, ensure that they conform with the requirements as to presentation and contents of such information prescribed by the Fourteenth Edition of Annex 15.

Use of the text of the Annex in national regulations.

The Council, on 13 April 1948, adopted a resolution inviting the attention of Contracting States to the desirability of using in their own national regulations, as far as practicable, the precise language of those ICAO Standards that are of a regulatory character and also indicating departures from the Standards, including any additional national regulations that were important for the safety or regularity of air navigation. Wherever possible, the provisions of this Annex have been written in such a way as would facilitate incorporation, without major textual changes, into national legislation.

* A number of other articles of the Convention have special pertinence to the provisions of the FAL Annex and have been taken into account in its preparation. In particular, persons responsible for the implementation of the provisions of this Annex should be familiar with the following articles in addition to Articles 22 and 23:

Article 10, Landing at customs airport; Article 11, Applicability of air regulations;

Article 13, Entry and clearance regulations; Article 14, Prevention of spread of disease;

Article 24, Customs duty; Article 29, Documents carried in aircraft;

Article 35, Cargo restrictions.