NBAA Has Been a Force in the International Arena

Aviation is global by nature, and business aircraft have been flying overseas for decades. For example, Salem Engineering, an Ohio-based construction company, made what is believed to be the first round-the-world flight in a business airplane in 1949.

As NBAA marks its 70th anniversary, a key part of the association’s history has been its support for international operators for nearly a half century.

• In 1971, Mobil Oil Canada became the association’s first “affiliate member,’ a category created for operators not flying U.S.-registered aircraft.
• In 1974, NBAA held its inaugural International Operators Conference, an annual forum for sharing best practices for flying overseas.
• In 1981, NBAA led the creation of the International Business Aviation Council, a federation of national and regional business aviation organizations.

NBAA and its International Operators Committee have become leading sources of information about global flight operations.

Today, many NBAA members routinely fly overseas, and the association and its International Operators Committee have become leading sources of information about global flight operations, expanding the scope of their activities by working on a host of issues, with access to international airports and airspace at the top of the list. Others include:

• International avionics mandates, equipment authorizations and emissions requirements
• Reduced lateral separation minimums and navigational errors in North Atlantic airspace
• Complex and evolving requirements for access to Cuba
• EASA third-country operator approvals and other European operating issues
• The growing number of countries requiring advanced passenger information
• The need for contingency plans when traveling to or overflying security hot spots or when encountering potentially disruptive natural events, such as typhoons or volcanic eruptions

To share information about these issues, the International Operators Conference has expanded to four days and features experts who cover everything from flight planning to security.

To further support the expansion and acceptance of business aviation worldwide, NBAA, in conjunction with the European Business Aviation Association, launched the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in 2001. In 2005 the first Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition was held in China.