ThePacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) is anintergovernmentalcivil aviation authority that is responsible foraviation safety andsecurity in ten states ofOceania. PASO is headquartered in Anchor House on Kumul Highway inPort Vila, Vanuatu.[1]
PASO was informally organised in 2002 by the aviation ministers of several states of thePacific Islands Forum. The organisation was formally confirmed through the conclusion of thePacific Islands Civil Aviation Safety and Security Treaty, which was signed on 9 August 2004 inApia, Samoa. The treaty entered into force on 11 June 2005 and has been ratified by theCook Islands,Kiribati,Nauru,Niue,Papua New Guinea,Samoa,Solomon Islands,Tonga,Tuvalu, andVanuatu. The Pacific Islands Forum states that have not ratified the treaty and joined PASO areAustralia,Fiji,Marshall Islands,Micronesia, andNew Zealand.
Tonga withdrew from PASO on 7 April 2006, but joined again on 24 August 2006.
PASO works closely with theAustralian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, theCivil Aviation Authority of Fiji, and theCivil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
