For the first time since International Civil Aviation Day was established, in 1994, ICAO commemorated 7 December this year with a special Joint Statement with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) calling for accelerated global efforts to reconnect the world. This was reported by ICAO from Montreal on the day.

With global connectivity recovery on course, both UN bodies called for intensified efforts towards vaccine equity and stressed that restrictions on travel due to new variants of Covid-19 must only be used ‘as a very last resort,’ noting they are ‘discriminatory, ineffective and against the guidance of the World Health Organization.’