Opening the ICAO Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Symposium (RPAS) in Abuja on 18 July, ICAO Council President Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu stressed the importance of a globally coherent regulatory framework for the management of unmanned air traffic. He remarked: ‘If you consider a company envisaging a global drone fleet to enhance its deliveries, the value of having a myriad of domestic national regulations aligned via globally harmonized international standards becomes clearly apparent.’

President Aliu also stressed the complexity of this task, notably in terms of the tremendous diversity of types and applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(UAS), and the need to place safety first.