Doha: The top leadership of the aviation sector from around the world will gather in Doha today for the International Air Transport Association IATA’s 78th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the World Air Transport Summit (WATS). The three-day event is organised by Qatar Airways.
The conference brings together nearly 240 IATA member airlines, and this year’s General Meeting attracts more than 750 senior aviation industry delegates, and more than 150 international media outlets will attend, to discuss the most important topics and global trends related to the aviation sector.
The WATS will discuss several important themes including Ukrainian war impacts on the aviation sector, the role of the aviation sector to support global efforts to reduce harmful emissions to the environment and helping airlines address challenges posed by carbon offsets, and the regulatory and financial challenges facing global airlines.
This year’s AGM will be an important opportunity for aviation industry leaders to reflect on the changing political, economic, and technological realities facing air travel as the industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as building a much stronger future for the aviation and air transport sector.
Last March, IATA announced moving the 78th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the World Air Transport Summit (WATS) from Shanghai, China, where it would have been hosted by China Eastern Airlines, to Doha.
This will be the second time for Qatar to hold the global meeting for aviation leaders after 2014. The change in venue reflects the ongoing travel-related restrictions to China due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this regard, the Director General of IATA Willie Walsh described the decision as returning to the aviation hub in Doha and the hospitality for which Qatar is famous, adding that Doha will be transformed into the global capital of air transport as aviation leaders gather for the 78th IATA AGM and WATS amid recovery from COVID-19.
Qatar Airways is considered as one of the most prominent supporters of IATA and this year’s meeting edition is considered as a valuable opportunity to review the extent of improvement and development in Qatar’s infrastructure, in preparation for hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker said that Qatar Airways is pleased to host the International Air Transport Association Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit for the second time. He affirmed that Qatar Airways is a strong supporter of IATA and that this years AGM is a valuable opportunity to showcase the renowned Qatari hospitality, together with the country’s new infrastructural developments as it counts down towards hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Al Baker added that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be the first in the Middle East and Arab world, and described it as the perfect opportunity for the Arab region as a whole to show the rest of the world its efforts and achievements and proving that it is ready to host mega events, welcome visitors and football fans. He also said that hosting such global events demonstrates Qatar’s readiness to provide a more convenient and flexible travel experience, and to provide the best and seamless travel options to travellers.
The conference is a qualitative and unique annual international event in the civil aviation sector. It constitutes an opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas and to stand on the best experiences and practices, to keep pace with the rapid developments in the aviation market, as well as being one of the tributaries of achieving national goals in developing resources and capacities.
The conference aims to find solutions that contribute to the prosperity of the civil aviation sector in the coming years specially that the phase the sector is passing through requires the importance of activating cooperation from all stakeholders to introduce the necessary policies that ensure a promising future for the sector.
