Aircraft maintenance at the Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company Limited (VAECO) - photo: VAECO

ICAO conducted a safety inspection of Vietnam’s aviation sector in May 2024. Could you tell us about this program?

From May 15-27, 2024, ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program - Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP-CMA) conducted a comprehensive assessment of Vietnam’s aviation safety oversight capabilities.

The USOAP-CMA program was established by the ICAO Council and implemented following the 32nd ICAO Assembly’s resolution. It ensures systematic, periodic mandatory safety audits for all member states, with results publicly disclosed to promote transparency. These inspections aim to uphold ICAO’s core goal of ensuring international aviation safety by addressing significant safety concerns identified through these audits.

Having acknowledged the program’s importance, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the USOAP-CMA program with ICAO on October 12, 2011.

This comprehensive audit followed validation inspections in Vietnam conducted in 2011 and 2016. The audit focused on evaluating safety oversight capabilities through the Effective Implementation (EI) index across eight critical elements (CEs), including Legislation (LEG), Organization (ORG), Personnel Licensing (PEL), Aircraft Operations (OPS), Airworthiness of Aircraft (AIR), Accident Investigation (AIG), Air Navigation Services (ANS), and Aerodromes and Ground Aids (AGA).

Implementing passenger check-in procedures at the Noi Bai International Airport (NIA) - photo: NIA

ICAO released Vietnam’s USOAP-CMA audit report in August. Could you share the key findings?

On August 16, 2024, ICAO issued the draft audit report for Vietnam’s USOAP-CMA. The effective implementation (EI) scores for each domain are as follows:

Legislation (LEG): 71.43%; Organization (ORG): 81.82%; Personnel Licensing (PEL): 85.88%; Aircraft Operations (OPS): 85.71%; Airworthiness of Aircraft (AIR): 79.25%; Accident Investigation (AIG): 30.12%; Air Navigation Services (ANS): 91.80%; and Aerodrome Operations (AGA): 83.85%. The overall score of 78.14% surpassed the 75% average target of ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan.

The key areas forming the aviation safety assurance system of Vietnam have achieved high ratings (over 80%). This demonstrates that Vietnam has maintained a robust and stable aviation safety oversight system.

ICAO has mandated that member states establish and maintain an independent investigation authority for aviation incidents and accidents, separate from the civil aviation authority. Accordingly, Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention requires member states to set up and sustain an investigation authority independent of civil aviation authorities and other related agencies. This aims to ensure that accident investigations are conducted objectively and independently, thereby supporting a reliable aviation safety system.

Additionally, the Declaration at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in Beijing (the Beijing Declaration) reaffirmed the commitment of member states to establishing an independent accident investigation authority, separate from aviation authorities, to ensure objectivity and prevent interference during investigations.

In February 2024, the Ministry of Transport submitted to the Government the proposal for amending the Vietnam Civil Aviation Law, including proposed revisions to separate the investigation of aircraft incidents and accidents from the responsibilities of the civil aviation authority, aiming to address existing shortcomings in the implementation of the law and align with ICAO requirements.

How would you evaluate ICAO’s assessment of Vietnam’s aviation sector?

Vietnam’s high USOAP-CMA score places the country among the top performers in the region in terms of Effective Implementation (EI) index, exceeding the Asia-Pacific average of 65.5% and the global average of 69.9%. This achievement reflects significant efforts by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and related organizations.

In the coming period, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) will focus on developing and effectively implementing the Corrective Actions Plan (CAP) to address the findings identified in the USOAP-CMA inspection report, further enhance Vietnam aviation sector’s safety oversight capability, and increase the Effective Implementation (EI) index of the critical elements in Vietnam’s aviation safety oversight system to 85-90%./.