IATA Seeks Reforms in Global Aviation Infrastructure

• IATA Seeks Reforms in Global Aviation Infrastructure

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, has said there is need for global aviation infrastructure reform to avert a crisis in the sector.

He is worried that many of the world’s airports are operating at or beyond their designed capacity. The provision of air navigation services in major markets, such as the United States, Europe and China, is struggling to keep pace with the technical capabilities to manage demand at optimum efficiency, he said.

He told The Nation that with the challenge: “We don’t see governments preparing to make the investments that will be needed to cope with future growth, especially as major infrastructure planning cycles are now measured in decades.”

He further disclosed that there was also crisis in the cost of infrastructure. Europe, unfortunately, provides the example.

To him, over the last decade, passenger charges on the average one-way ticket have more than doubled.

He said: “Why these divergent courses? The bluntest explanation rests on pure market forces. Airlines are subjected to intense competition. So they are in a constant search for the efficiencies needed to make a more compelling price offering to their customers.

“Airports, on the other hand, are not subjected to the same competitive pressures. With very few exceptions, there is no choice of airports. If you want to fly to Amsterdam, for example, Schiphol is your only choice. And when it looks like there might be competition as in Paris, you find that Orly and Charles de Gaulle have the same owner,” he added.

De Junaic further stated that airports are critical partners for airlines, adding that without them, airlines would literally have no place to take their passengers.