Santiago – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) successfully brought together more than 400 representatives of the aviation community from across the Americas at its 14th edition of the Wings of Change Americas Conference (WOCA).
Under the theme “Advancing Aviation for a Competitive and Sustainable Future”, the two-day event held in Santiago, Chile on 10 and 11 April provided a platform for meaningful discussions and collaboration to shape the future of air transport in the region. For the first time, 16 ministers of tourism from across the Americas attended the event, underlining the important interdependency between tourism and aviation.
In his opening remarks, Peter Cerdá, IATA’s Regional Vice President for the Americas, drew attention to the fact that over 90% of foreign tourists visiting Latin America and the Caribbean arrive by air, thus demonstrating the importance of governments and airlines working collaboratively in furthering the socio-economic contribution across the region.
Cerdá also highlighted that traffic had recovered to pre-pandemic levels and that connectivity to/from and across the region was showing further growth.
However, profitability for the airlines based in the region remains a challenge and the respective governments need to work with the industry in a collaborative manner on the following topics:
- Lowering taxes, charges, and fees:
Working on reducing the financial burden for airlines and passengers. A fair and balanced fee structure across the region is essential to underpin sustainable growth. - Harmonizing the regulatory environment:
Aligning regulations along global best practices ensures consistency and efficiency. A level playing field needs to be created for airlines across borders and ensure equal treatment of aviation versus other players in the transportation sector. - Infrastructure adequacy:
Airport and air traffic management infrastructure must keep pace with future growth. Passenger needs should be at the…