For Ramp Checks to have credibility, ICAO must take the lead besides "recommending only".
Recommending leaves countries and associations of countries to get themselves together and create SOPs to ensure home and visiting operators stick to the rules.
As one can imagine, this will be always disputed because the accused will always say they are receiving unfair treatment or the competitor or neighbour is getting preferable treatment.
Arabs back Yemenia as French safety row deepens Why shouldn't they? Then what?! Remember the "real" decisions out of every ordinary or extraordinary meeting of the Arab League... Window dressing.
I would not hesitate much in saying that many countries worldwide are very credible and serious about their operating standards, but still it is seen as a single or regional country's decision rather than global.
IOSA was a good start, but it is also an airline money making machine... with very high costs. Some may disagree, but I read it this way. How about the non-adhering non-complying operators? No one will stop them from operating and at a much lower cost.
As an example, a second string operator (non-IATA), operating a KRT-DXB route, will not have the same training costs and standards as EK or FlyDubai. Will this be a fair deal?
We need a new, credible and serious "world order" where there has to be a large number of items to ensure safety is paramount.
FTLs are something which is easily "read and perceived" differently worldwide and every single country has its own rules and this is accepted as long as it is adhered to.