IFALPA – International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations
Based in London, UK, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) was created during a conference of pilots' associations held in London in April 1948 for the express purpose of providing a formal means for the airline pilots of the world to interact with the then newly formed International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); the inaugural meeting was attended by the representatives of 13 pilot Associations, founder members as they are now called. The belief then was that the unique perspective of pilots operating in scheduled flying would be of significant benefit to the creation and adaptation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) through which ICAO regulates international civil aviation. This belief holds true today backed up by over 65 years of experience. From this founding element, membership of the Federation has grown to over 104 Member Associations representing well in excess of 100,000 airline pilots worldwide.
IFALPA’s representative to ICAO is able to play a major role in
implementing the Federation's policies by influencing the development of ICAO International
Standards and Recommendations Practices within the Air Navigation Commission
(ANC). IFALPA has currently several Standing Committees to develop work programme
items and proposals of mature policy status.
On 13 November 2012, IFALPA, which represented some 100,000 pilots worldwide, opened its new headquarters in Montréal, Canada, close to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), following a successful collaboration between IFALPA and Montréal International, which supported the international organization throughout its relocation from London, England to Montréal.
IFALPA also interacts with other major aviation bodies, such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Airports Council International (ACI), the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (IFATCA), for the adoption of international standards and their implementation at national level. Taken together, these international aviation organizations position Montréal as the World Capital of Civil Aviation.
The World Pilots’ Day is celebrated every year on 26 April. This Day recognizes the many contributions of pilots who safely connect millions of passengers around the world every year. On that day, ICAO also celebrates the crucial importance of pilots’ contributions to the sustainability of aviation and its long-standing relationship with IFALPA.
On this very day in 1912, a young Turkish pilot took his first flight; his name was Fesa Evrensev (1878-1951). According to Turkish sources, Fesa Evrensev was the first Turkish military pilot to take part in a number of military flight missions during the Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913; in 1933, he became the first president of Turkish Airlines. Given the importance of Fesa Evrensev in the history of Turkish aviation, the Turkish Airlines Pilots’ Association was the first to establish 26 April as Pilots Day. In 2013, the IFALPA concluded it was high time they found a day to celebrate all these pilots. Therefore, they thought 26 April, a day that saw a prominent figure in aviation history taking to the sky for the first time, could be an appropriate solution. The following year, on 26 April 2014, World Pilots Day was celebrated for the first time. IFALPA selected 26 April to highlight the inaugural flight of Mehmet Fesa Evrensev, who had played a significant role in the development of Turkish aviation since the early 1910s.
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Commemorative cover issued for the 15th IFALPA Annual Conference (held in Istanbul in 1960). The Turkish text in the cancel reads as follows: BEYNELMILEL HAVA YOLLARI PILOTLAR FEDERASYOU, which translates into English by: INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE PILOTS FEDERATION. But the cachet in English reads: The 15th Year Conference of the International Federation of the Pilots of Airmails. This is an erroneously prepared rare cover. Issued in 1959/1960, the stamp shows a Turkish Airlines turboprop Vickers Viscount V.794D aircraft named "THY-SES" (registered TC-SES), being loaded with mail. Turkish Airlines was formed on 20 May 1933; in 1956, the Turkish government reorganized the airline under the name Türk Hava Yollari Anonim Ortaklığı (often abbreviated as THY).
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Souvenir cover issued for the 25th IFALPA Annual Conference (held in London in 1970), where all Member Associations gathered.
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IFALPA Service cover sent from Indonesia to ICAO – Postmarked on 24 March 1995.
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Commemorative cover and head table’s picture related to the 50th Annual Conference held in Bali, Indonesia from 23 to 28 March 1995.
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The Aerial Symphony mural, shown on this cover commemorating the 32nd Session of the Assembly, is one of the works of art on display at ICAO Headquarters (3rd floor in the Conference Centre). It is comprised of forty panels of anodized aluminum, designed by Montréal Artist Michel Guilbeault and donated by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) in 1997. The mural emphasizes the subtle interface between art and science in civil aviation. It also traces the evolution of flight, this time through a variety of aircraft types, alternating with depictions of eastern and western hemispheres of the earth and brilliantly iridescent hand-coloured butterfly wings.
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Philippines – 7 December 2009 65th Anniversary of ICAO and 2009 International Civil Aviation Day First Day Cover with miniature sheet (Larger version of the stamp design, i.e., continuous view of the same image of the winged Daedalus formed from stamps, divided into 4 parts at 7p each). The cachet on the right-side highlights the global cooperation (in the form of a pyramid) between ICAO and the Philippines’s Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), and various bodies of the country and other organizations of the world (including IFALPA at the lower right). The background of the cover shows a large mosaic with the reproduction (in watermark) of various stamps issued by the Philippines and other countries of the world. |
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