The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) urged the United States government and industry to
work together to ensure that aviation is able to accommodate an expected
62% rise in demand for air travel to, from and within the country over
the next 20 years.
Speaking at the International Aviation Club in Washington, D.C., Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO, noted that aviation already supports 6.5 million jobs in the United States and contributes over US$778 billion to GDP, including aviation-supported tourism. The social and economic benefits enabled by aviation will increase as the number of passenger journeys rises to 1.26 billion by 2037, from 780 million in 2017.
De Juniac highlighted key factors necessary to ensure aviation is able to meet this increase and grow aviation’s benefits. These include maintaining a competitive environment that stimulates innovation, and adequate infrastructure to cope with new demand.
He also urged the US to ratify the Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14) to address loopholes in international agreements that make it difficult to bring the law to bear against unruly passengers. “No passenger or crew member should have to put up with verbal or physical threats, harassment, violence or assault. MP14 will close jurisdictional loopholes in the existing international treaty governing offenses on-board aircraft, ensuring that perpetrators will face justice regardless of where they are flying.” Sixteen countries have ratified MP14 of the twenty-two needed for it to come into force.
