Aviation representative and lobby group the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has moved to improve sustainability in the sector in Latin America.
IATA hosted more than 400 aviation representatives at its 14th Wings of Change Americas Conference (WOCA), in Santiago, Chile last week, to discuss collaboration over shaping 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.
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.
“The key takeaway from the conference is very clear: collaboration. By working together we can overcome challenges, drive innovation, and create a more resilient and sustainable aviation value chain across the Americas,” he said.
The conference agreed that governments need to collaborate with airlines on a number of things including:
- 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. - Harmonising 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 forefront of investments in airports. - Sustainability:
Governments must implement supportive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policies, and the private sector must also invest in SAF production and other innovations to support the industry’s net zero CO2 emission goals. - The Chilean authorities used the occasion to launch their roadmap for the development of SAF in the country, which is based on a public-private partnership under the “Vuelo Limpio” programme, aimed at achieving 50% SAF use by 2050.
