Chinedu Eze
Air transport is expected to move 4.6 billion persons from one destination to another in 2019 and 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 recently.
He said for some countries to maximise the benefits of air transport, state governments 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 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 would 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 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 realise its global objective.
“On the one hand, that means working with governments directly and through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to produce regulation that enables aviation to fulfil 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 IATA encourages smarter regulations, which is a concept the organisation 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.
According to him, since 2019, all airlines have been monitoring their emissions from international flights which they report to their governments.
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 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 optimisation proposals,” he said.
