The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged policy-makers to use aviation as a strategic asset, advocating the “wide-ranging” benefits of a good relationship between the industry and government.
Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO said: “When the relationship between industry and government works, the results are brilliant. Policies that support aviation’s competitiveness deliver wide-ranging benefits across economies by connecting business to markets.”
The IATA say that aviation is a key economic contributor. According to Oxford Economics studies commissioned by IATA, the aviation industry contributes 119,000 quality jobs and 5.4% of GDP in Singapore.
“The connectivity that aviation provides to Singapore has enabled it to develop as a successful regional hub for sectors as diverse as finance, healthcare, culture and education,” said Tyler in a keynote address to the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit.
Tyler indicated India as one market that is missing out on aviation’s potential as a result of a policy framework that does not support aviation’s competitiveness, yet outlined Asia as an area driving growth.
IATA say that aviation’s centre of gravity is shifting eastward as a result of this growth. In 2010, around 33% of passengers travelled on Asia-Pacific routes, whilst around 31% of passengers travelled on North America and Europe routes.
By 2015, IATA’s passenger forecast anticipates that Asia-Pacific will represent 37%, whilst traffic associated with Europe and North America will fall to 29%.
In the same period, an additional 877 million passengers are expected to be generated – 212 million of which are expected to fly on routes associated with China.
Tyler pointed out that one challenge the growth of aviation presents is security. He said: . “Security is a top priority that must not be compromised. But everybody hopes for an early evolution from an airport checkpoint experience defined by queuing, unpacking, removing clothing, separating certain items and possibly invasive searches.
“The system works, but it is struggling to cope with today’s volumes. Growth will only make the challenge bigger. One of my priorities is to build global consensus that will see the Checkpoint of the Future improve the quality and convenience of airport security.”
The Checkpoint of the Future envisages using passenger data collected for immigration authorities to differentiate airport screening. Secondly, it incorporates technology expected to be available in a seven to 10 year time frame to enable passengers to walk through checkpoints without stopping or unpacking.
Tyler also called for cooperative policies to help reduce the price of sustainable biofuels to allow them to move into general usage and help the aviation industry rach its climate change targets.
Tyler said: “Positive economic measures such as emissions trading are a necessary, if temporary, bridge to reach aviation’s climate change targets. To be effective and avoid market distortions, these measures must be globally coordinated. Europe deserves credit for pushing this issue up the international agenda and it is at the forefront on emissions trading. But its unilateral approach must change.”
Photo: James Cridland
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