International Civil Aviation Day 2023: History, significance and theme

The International Civil Aviation Day is observed on December 7 every year across the globe. The day aims to raise awareness of the importance of civil aviation and its significant contribution to the world economy as well as other fields. The celebration of the day highlights how travelling across the globe has become easy and convenient due to air connectivity and the issues plaguing the civil aviation sector.

The celebration of the day is linked to the establishment of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is the regulatory body behind effectively managing international travel, security, and cooperation. ICAO is a United Nations body, which was formed 75 years ago and aims to maintain aviation safety worldwide.

The celebration day of International Civil Aviation was established in 1994 while commemorating the 50th anniversary of signing the Convention on International Civil Aviation by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Later in 1996, the United Nations General Assembly declared December 7 to be observed as International Civil Aviation Day. The date marks the establishment of ICAO on December 7, 1944.

The main aim of observing the day as International Civil Aviation is to help generate and reinforce worldwide awareness of the importance of civil aviation to the social and economic development of the United States.

Another motive for celebrating International Civil Aviation Day is to offer people an understanding of the role of the organisation and its inter-relations with other UN bodies such as the World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization, and the International Maritime Organization.

This celebration of the day also highlights the unique role played by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in offering global aviation safety, efficiency, and uniformity universally. ICAO organises various activities and events such as seminars, educational sessions, and promotional events in various institutions and organisations across countries.

Since the celebrations in the year 2014, the ICAO council has decided to select themes for the day every five years. Following the same, in 2019 it was decided that the theme until 2023 would be, ‘Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development’.