The Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy, has welcomed the re-election of South Africa to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Governing Council at the 42nd General Assembly currently taking place in Montréal, Canada, which began on 23rd September and is due to end on the 3rd of October 2025.
The election vote took place on Saturday, 27 September 2025, and SA was re-elected in Part II of the General Council, which is a category where member States receive higher representation at global forums that deal with civil aviation.
The South African delegation is led by Minister Creecy. The delegation includes technical and legal experts from the South African Civil Aviation Authority; Airports Company South Africa; Air Traffic and Navigation Services; the Departments of Transport and Home Affairs, as well as representatives from the South African National Space Agency and the South African Weather Services.
Reacting to SA’s re-election, Creecy stated that: “The re-election result reaffirms the mandate that South Africa has held since 2003 and demonstrates the confidence of Member States in the Republic and its ongoing contribution in shaping the global aviation agenda.”
She further said that “the re-election also reaffirms South Africa’s instrumental role in advancing ICAO’s agenda on safety, security, sustainability, and environmental matters, while ensuring that the African continent’s priorities remain firmly on the global stage.”
Creecy said that the role and leadership of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), the African Union’s specialised civil aviation agency, needed to be acknowledged as it was instrumental in placing Africa’s aviation priorities at the centre of ICAO’s agenda.
Africa’s Aviation Global Agenda
The two other African States that were elected in Part II of the General Council include the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Africa had put forward candidates in both Part II and Part III of the ICAO Council elections, with Part III signifying an equitable geographic representation for the Continent, with the Part III elections to take place at a later stage.
In the current Session, Africa, through AFCAC, has tabled Working Papers that highlight broader strategic priorities, including the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative, which is aimed at opening African skies, boosting connectivity, reducing costs, and unlocking opportunities for trade and tourism on the continent.
