IATA agenda for cooperation between airlines and airports
Istanbul – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for a unified agenda between airlines and airports to address the mutual challenges of growth and sustainability. “Airports are airlines’ closest partners. Neither of us could exist without the other,” said Tony Tyler, IATA Director General and CEO.
Speaking at the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe / World Annual Congress and Exhibition in Istanbul, Tyler noted that major investments in infrastructure will be needed to meet the global demand for air connectivity which is growing at about 5% annually.
Meeting these requirements efficiently will require close cooperation. Over the long term, airline profit margins have been insufficient to cover their cost of capital and this also has been the case for some airports. “Neither partner can afford poorly-thought out and overly expensive infrastructure development. To avoid this, we must work together in a collaborative process based upon the basic principles laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which include consultation with airport users, transparency, non-discrimination, cost-based charges, and strict safeguards on pre-financing of future infrastructure,” said Tyler.
Tyler also cautioned that “decades of practical experience and longstanding and credible economic theory have shown that most airports have substantial market power. Strong independent regulation is required to provide the cost discipline that otherwise would be imposed by the free market. And the ICAO principles offer sufficient flexibility for regulators to apply various levels of economic oversight where market forces do exist.” – IATA
