On 9 August 2004, Pacific states sign the Convention establishing the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) — the regional organisation supervising civil aviation safety.

The Convention creates a joint office helping member states meet ICAO standards on airworthiness, operations and licensing, amid limited resources of small island states.

PASO’s headquarters is in Port Vila (Vanuatu). The instrument responds to the need for technical aviation cooperation across the South Pacific.

PASO remains an example of a specialised regional aviation-safety body for Pacific Islands Forum states.

For Oceania aviation, 9 August 2004 marks the legal establishment of PASO.

The official text is on the PASO site / Pacific treaty collections.

The PASO Convention of 9 August 2004 remains the constitutive act of the Pacific Aviation Safety Office.

Image: Pacific / aviation; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Pacific Aviation Safety Office. Treaty text: Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO).