IATA: Latin American aviation industry needs government support

IATA regional VP for the Americas Peter Cerda, at the IATA AGM, said (05-Jun-2017) Latin America has all the necessary elements to become an aviation success story, but many of the region's governments are not treating air carriers as partners that drive social and economic development. Mr Cerda said air transport generates USD167 billion in GDP and supports more than five million jobs in the region. Air traffic in the region is expected to double by 2034, driven by competitive and efficient airlines, a growing middle class, favourable demographics and geography that necessitates travel by air. However, Mr Cerda said lack of infrastructure development and a failure to adhere to smarter regulation principles could curtail the benefits of air connectivity and leave USD42 billion in unrealised economic benefits. Mr Cerda said: "It is a government responsibility to provide infrastructure. For airlines to play their vital role of linking communities and economies globally, governments need to play their part - ensuring sufficient capacity, quality alignment with airline needs, and affordable costs". He added: "The goal of all regulation should be to achieve clearly defined, measurable policy objectives that can be adhered to in the least burdensome manner possible. And any regulatory framework benefits from a transparent and objective consultative process between governments and industry". [more - original PR]