Air transport 4.6 billion people from one destination to another in 2019; it would also transport 66 million tonnes of cargo in the same period.
This was disclosed by the Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac in his remarks at the CAPA Aeropolitical and Regulatory Affairs Summit on Wednesday.
He said that for some countries to maximize the benefits of air transport, state government must make and implement policies that promote air travels and lower charges in order to make airline business profitable in some countries.
Juniac also said that government must ensure that they work in tandem with global standards in terms of safety, pricing and infrastructure development.
He therefore urged governments to consult with the industry while enunciating policies that will guide air transport operations.
“The industry’s footprint extends to every corner of the earth. Never before have we been so connected to each other. And as the density of global connectivity grows each year, the world becomes more prosperous,” Juniac said.
He said that IATA has been working with governments of states directly and through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in order to produce regulations that would enable aviation to realize its global objective.
“On the one hand, that means working with governments directly and through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to produce regulation that enables aviation to fulfill its mission as the Business of Freedom. On the other hand, it means rallying the airlines to agree global standards that support the global system.
“To complete the metaphor, global standards and regulation work hand-in-hand to make flying safe, efficient and sustainable. And by sustainable, I mean both in terms of the environment and the industry’s finances,” Juniac said.
He said that IATA encourages smarter regulations, which is a concept the organization has been promoting for several years.
“Smarter regulation results from dialogue between the industry and governments focused on solving real problems. That discussion should be guided by global standards and informed by a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. In doing so, it avoids unintended and counter-productive consequences.
“At its best, smarter regulation is proactive. That’s how we achieved CORSIA—the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. This is a game-changing global agreement on climate change that will enable aviation to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020,” he said.
He said from the start of 2019 all airlines are monitoring their emissions from international flights which they would then report to their governments, adding that this process would form a baseline and the license to grow for airlines would be offsets that they purchase to support carbon-reduction programs in other parts of the economy.
Junaic however lamented that more people want to fly than airports have the capacity to accommodate.
“The solution is to build more capacity. But that is not happening fast enough. So, we have a globally-agreed system to allocate slots at capacity constrained airports.
“Today the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG) is being used at about 200 airports accounting for 43 per cent of global traffic,” he disclosed.
He said that some governments have tried to tinker with the system but IATA has fiercely resisted such moves because allocating a slot at Tokyo, for example, means nothing if there isn’t a corresponding slot available at the destination at the required time.
“The system will only work if the parties at both ends of a route are using the same rules. Tinkering by any participant messes it up for everybody!
Like any system, it can always be improved. That’s why we are working with Airports Council International (ACI) on optimization proposals,” he said.
IATA had earlier noted that one of the major challenges in Africa and other developing nation is that aeronautical charges are unusually high because many of those countries see air transport as luxury instead of as necessary because it is a catalyst to the world and nation’s economy.
