In our society, it is customary to always remember the holidays related to the armed forces or military events, and celebrate them with a concomitant scale. Memorable dates related to peaceful, civil affairs are often little known or undeservedly forgotten. For example, few people know when is International Civil Aviation Day. The article describes the role of the holiday for Russia and the whole world, its history and established traditions.
The significance of the holiday for the world community
Celebrations dedicated to the Day of Civil Aviation in all countries of the world are held annually on December 7th. This holiday is not officially recognized as a day off.
Today we can safely say that aviation occupies an important position in the history of each country. After all, it performs the functions of transporting citizens and freight, as well as protecting the country's territories. In the event of a military conflict, the availability of aircraft is a significant advantage over the enemy.
To whom the holiday is dedicated
Civil aviation is a much broader concept than simply transporting passengers.
On Civil Aviation Day, not only pilots of aircraft and stewardesses deserve warm words and congratulations, but also other employees:
- mechanics and technical workers, aircraft designers, whose genius makes multi-ton machines fly into the air;
- airport workers;
- teachers of specialized educational institutions;
- civil servants working in this industry and many others.
Together and individually, they are involved in the fact that civil aviation was and remains the most important component of the transport system throughout the world and in the Russian Federation in particular.
What is ICAO (ICAO)
International Civil Aviation Organization (Russian ICAO) - The International Civil Aviation Organization, it appeared simultaneously with the adoption of the Chicago Convention in the same 1944. In fact, ICAO is a specialized body whose purpose is to streamline and regulate civilian flights, regulate cargo and passenger transportation, and develop common norms and standards in civil aviation.
The organization's headquarters is located in Montreal, Canada. Our country joined ICAO in 1970.
To date, 192 states are members of this organization, which also annually celebrate Civil Aviation Day.
The ICAO area of responsibility is quite extensive. In her competence are:
- Dividing the world airspace into flight information regions, the boundaries of which are determined taking into account navigation capabilities.
- Coordination of cooperation on international freight and passenger transportation.
- Assignment of individual four-letter identifier codes to the airports of the world for the purpose of transmitting navigation and meteorological information.
- Development of flight plans.
- Designation of civil airfields on the maps, etc.
The role of civil aviation in the world: statistics and interesting facts
In 2017, the President of ICAO outlined several aspects due to which civil aviation remains the most important means of socio-economic development of both an individual state and the world community as a whole. For example, daily civilian aircraft transport more than 10 million passengers, more than 100 thousand flights are recorded every day.
If we look even more globally, then out of 1.4 billion tourists more than half use air transport annually as a means of transportation around the world. The magnitude of these figures helps to understand how air transport provides 63.5 million jobs annually and why more than 2.7 trillion US dollars are spent on it.
Air potential is undoubtedly important for a single state, but it plays a particularly decisive role in countries located on islands, or, conversely, not having access to the sea. It is civil aviation that helps to increase the volume of cargo transportation, tourism and trade, and, therefore, contribute to their economic prosperity.
The history of the holiday and the role of the UN in its approval
In the distant 1944, December 7, in the city of Chicago, which is located in the state of Illinois, USA, representatives of 52 states decided to sign the convention. Its purpose was to establish and regulate the basic principles of international aviation. For instance:
- determine the nationality of the aircraft;
- establish international aviation standards, flight rules over the territory of the State party and others.
Initially, the convention was drafted in English, but in 1968 authentic texts were adopted for France and Spain in their native languages. The Russian-language analogue was adopted in 1977, but entered into force almost 22 years later, in 1999.
In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the convention in 1994, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the establishment on December 7 of the International Day of Civil Aviation. States parties to the convention were invited to take the necessary measures in order to spread this memorable day among the population, thereby marking the merits of aviation to society.
Traditions
Civil Aviation Day in Russia is celebrated by the organization of celebrations. Although it is not recognized as a public holiday, it is customary among employees to congratulate each other.
The authorities reward employees with letters of appreciation and gratitude, write out a bonus and give gifts. At the end of the day, employees organize parties and corporate parties, as well as accept congratulations and wishes.
Solemn speeches are also made on television and there are screenings of thematic and documentary films that tell about the formation, development and significance of modern aviation.
Civil Aviation Day in Russia
Unlike the world community, in Russia it is customary to celebrate the holiday of February 9th. On this day, almost a hundred years ago (in 1923), a decision was adopted in the young Soviet Union “On the assignment of technical supervision of air lines to the main directorate of the air fleet and the organization of the Civil Aviation Council”. Translating the abstruse title of the document into simple human language, we can say that it was about creating an air civilian fleet and an organization that regulates cargo and passenger transportation.
“Dobrolet” - such a good name in all senses was given to the air transport organization created in the same year.
The history of the holiday in Russia
The first air route was laid from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod. The Soviet ANT-1 aircraft without problems overcame an impressive distance of 420 km at that time. An interesting fact: there were no civilian pilots at that time, as well as specialized educational institutions. All responsibility was assumed by military pilots, who were urgently forced to undergo retraining.
Finally, as a structure, civil aviation took shape after 9 years, in 1932 its own flag appeared, employees began to wear a uniform identifying their profession, and Dobrolet became Aeroflot known to all of us.
Soviet civil aviation developed continuously: the routes covered increased, the skills of pilots were perfected (the whole world knows such names as V. Chkalov, A. Tupolev, etc.), jet planes appeared.
During the Second World War, all the forces and resources of civil aviation were thrown into the fight against the fascist invaders: they delivered food, necessary medicines, and supplied the Soviet Army with weapons.
In 1979, the leadership of the USSR decided to establish Civil Aviation Day or Aeroflot Day. In our time, the latter is considered a separate holiday and is celebrated in August.
