The International Civil Aviation Organisation is considering whether the agency should expand its role to include issuing safety advisories in the aftermath of the MH17 disaster.
The ICAO, composed of 191 signatory states, as well as global industry and aviation organizations, currently does not possess the power to open or close airspace and does not currently issue advisory notices.
After MH17, ICAO has been subject to calls from the industry over its limited remit, and the fact that there is no single global authority responsible for advisories. ICAO has historically stated that the issue is the responsibility of individual states.
An ICAO spokesman expressed doubts that there would be significant changes to ICAO's role in the short term, stating that "small incremental adjustments could be made over time, but there is not going to be a big bang."
ICAO also expressed concerns over the liability involved in a more prominent advisory role, together with reservations over whether national regulators would be willing to hand over certain powers over their sovereign airspace.