ALTA CEO: Air travel 'still treated as a cash cow industry' in Latin America

ALTA CEO Peter Cerda, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Latin America & Caribbean, stated (10-Sep-2026) the air travel sector is "still treated as a cash cow industry" by some governments in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr Cerda continued: "We're still treated as if we were an industry of the rich instead of considering air transportation as really a public mode of movement in our region, because of the lack of other modes of transportation, [such as] high speed rail, good highway systems...". He called on governments in the region to follow the example set by Panama and recognise the necessity of aviation, stating: "You need it. You need it socially. You need it economically". [more - CAPA TV]