The International Air TransportAssociation (IATA) announced the conclusion of an agreement with the Governmentof the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the establishment of its Gulf Area officein Abu Dhabi, effective 1 June.
Mr. Tony Tyler, IATA’s DirectorGeneral and CEO, signed the agreement with Under-Secretary of the Ministry ofForeign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah Mohammad Bin Butti Al Hamed in the presence ofthe Foreign Minister HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Thisformally establishes IATA’s presence in the Gulf Cooperation Council with anoffice covering activities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, in addition tothe UAE. It supersedes an agreement with the Sharjah Airport Authority, underwhich IATA’s first office in the UAE was established in 1996.
The Abu Dhabi office will reportto the Association’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Office in Amman,Jordan. Together they will make available the full range of IATA’s services andmember benefits to airlines operating in the region. This includes managing thelocal operations of the IATA Industry Settlement Systems, the IATA OperationalSafety Audit and delivering leadership as the industry establishes andimplements global standards to support the flagship Simplifying the Businessprogram, among other activities.
Source: IATA