INTERVIEW 'World air passenger traffic to double in two decades'

By Kim Hyun-bin

Worldwide air passenger traffic is expected to double to 4 billion in the next two decades, which requires swift changes to better meet and adapt to the positive growth, says the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

“We expect doubling in demand in the air connectivity in the next 20 years. We have to prepare our industry to face this tremendous and positive future,” Alexandre de Juniac, the IATA's director general and CEO, said during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday.

He is visiting Korea for the IATA's 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS) to be held here from Saturday to Monday.

To better meet the rising air traffic demand, De Juniac believes the industry needs to fulfill key tasks including increasing airlines' sustainability efforts and adequate infrastructure development as well as acquiring and tracking hundreds of thousands of trained workers including engineers, mechanics, pilots and cabin crew.

Although the aviation industry has such a promising future and expects profits in 2019 as well for the 10th consecutive year, over the past six months the industry has faced scores of headwinds and challenges.

“We see headwind in the last six months was pretty tough for airlines. We have seen global trade weakening due to trade wars, increase in fuel price which normally we see an increase in cost. We see geopolitical tensions sometimes have led to airspace closures in key regions, which is not positive for aviation,” he said.

The key issues surrounding the industry will be on the discussion table at the AGM and the WATS, which will be joined by 1,000 top leaders from the IATA's 290 member airlines.

“Over the next few days, Seoul will be transformed into the global capital of air transport as aviation leaders from around the world gather for the 75th IATA AGM and WATS. The airlines are meeting in challenging times,” de Juniac said.

Participants of the AGM will also discuss the rising impact of carbon emissions and climate change.

Since January, all IATA member airlines have been tracing their carbon emissions to prepare for the implementation of the 2020 introduction of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

This marks the first time the AGM will be held in Korea hosted by the country's flagship carrier Korean Air.

“We are delighted to bring the AGM to Seoul. Six IATA members are based in Korea. The aviation sector supports 838,000 jobs and $47.6 billion of the country's GDP. Korea is expected to be among the top 10 passenger markets in 2036,” he said.

Du Juniac believes with the right policies, the country's aviation sector will potentially support 1.5 million jobs and $138 billion in economic activity in 20 years.

The IATA represents 290 airlines comprising 82 percent of global air traffic.