Russia was not re-elected to the governing board of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which consists of 36 countries, writes Reuters. She didn't get enough votes. Thus, the countries members of the council tried to hold Russia accountable for the invasion of Ukraine. Canada and the EU said before the vote that they would oppose Russia's re-election to the council. The board meeting will be held in Montreal until October 7th. Assembly President and Director General of Civil Aviation of South Africa Poppy Hoza called the situation "unprecedented."
As an aviation expert, who requested anonymity, explained to The Insider, the denial of re-election to the council does not mean that Russia has ceased to be a member of the ICAO itself.
“Russia was not re-elected to the ICAO Council, but this does not mean that Russia is no longer a member state of the international civil aviation organization. The ICAO Council, which is elected every 3 years, includes 36 states, and in general ICAO – about 200. The Council performs various functions, for example, provides annual reports, manages the organization's finances, adopts standards, etc. We have previously received a red flag for “insufficient flight safety.
No one will keep a state on the ICAO board that has such a low level of flight safety and aircraft maintenance that they have been slapped with a red flag . It is a disgrace for an organization to have a country with a red flag on the ICAO board. Therefore, many countries voted against Russia's entry into the ICAO Council, and there is no politics here. This is a concern for the safety of flights in world aviation and care for one's reputation.
This is another touch in the overall picture of the mediocre policy of the Russian aviation authorities represented by the Ministry of Transport and its heads for the last 10 years, as well as the Federal Air Transport Agency and its head Alexander Neradko. The loss of the status of a member of the ICAO Council for such a state as Russia is another world-class disgrace.”