ICAO confirms there’s no change in Greece’s search-and-rescue jurisdiction

The head of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has confirmed that there has been no change to the existing boundaries of Athens’ search and rescue region or to its responsibilities within this, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

In a letter replying to Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias regarding a recently issued illegal Turkish regulation concerning the boundaries and responsibilities of the Athens SAR, ICAO Secretary General Fang Liu stressed that there has been no change to the Athens SAR, confirming that the Greek positions are correct.

In the letter, the head of the ICAO noted that no proposal for the amendment of these boundaries have been submitted by the Turkish side and that these boundaries can only be modified if there is agreement by all the countries in the region, including Greece.