The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced two symposiums for 2022 that would focus on bolstering air service.
The first, the 2022 World Financial Symposium, will focus on reshaping airline resilience, the association said. The event will be held Sept. 19-22 in Doha, Qatar, with Qatar Airways hosting.
“Airlines are resilient. Now is the time to build on the hard work and difficult restructurings of the past two years to seize opportunities coming out of the crisis. Finance will play a vital role in supporting the ongoing recovery while creating a sustainable capital structure to support our ambitious environment agenda,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Highlights of the event will be an onstage discussion with Akbar Al Baker and Willie Walsh on the aviation industry’s future, as well as a review of the industry’s economic outlook and resilience from IATA Chief Economist Marie Owens Thomsen.
Breakout sessions will address ESG reporting, sustainable finance trends, achieving net zero carbon emissions, financial risk management, and the future of airline payments, among others.
The second symposium, IATA World Cargo Symposium, will focus on building resilience to further strengthen air cargo’s post-pandemic prospects.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, air cargo delivery remained a critical cog in the supply chain. Additionally, as passenger numbers plummeted, air cargo was a crucial source of revenue for many airlines. In fact, air cargo revenues reached $204 billion, a record, and more than double 2019 revenues.
“Air cargo proved its resilience during the pandemic, and it is emerging stronger. The challenge now is to retain the momentum achieved in digitalization and other customer-centric efficiency gains. There is good reason to be optimistic. Air cargo is maintaining its strength even as economic and geo-political uncertainty grows. And this year’s WCS will focus on how the industry can capitalize on this resilience to build an even more promising and sustainable future for global air cargo,” said Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo.
The symposium, scheduled for Sept. 27-29 in London, will feature a discussion with Sullivan and David Shepherd, managing director at IAG Cargo. Other speakers will be Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA Chief Economist; Dorothea Von Boxberg, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo; and Turhan Ozen, Chief Cargo Officer at Turkish Cargo.
The program will also include a series of workshops covering improving the efficiency of billing settlements, improving performance on key market segments using IATA CEIV programs, and the Future Air Cargo Executives Summit.
Immediately following the summit, IATA will hold the Cargo Claims and Loss Prevention Conference, which will bring together experienced professionals to provide insight into claims and loss prevention practices.