Abu Dhabi on the evening of 25 October 2022 – AACO 55th Annual General Meeting, that was held today in Abu Dhabi-UAE, announced that although it would’ve been preferable to maintain the baseline of CORSIA (the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation agreed under ICAO) at 2019 levels rather than adding additional burden by lowering that baseline, the AGM, however, welcomes the decision made by the ICAO 41st General Assembly on aviation and the environment, on Carbon Neutral Growth for the international aviation that is less than the emissions recorded in 2019 by 15%, as well as the long term aspirational goal of achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2050.
On the same topic, the AGM called upon ICAO member states to work on the following:
1. CORSIA to be the only Market Based Measure (MBM) to deal with international aviation's emissions to avoid the implementation of divergent and unilateral measures for emission reduction schemes.
2. Low Carbon Aviation Fuels to be included in the strive of airlines to reduce their emissions.
3. The facility of Book & Claim to be included in any reference to supporting the deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
4. To harmonize the sustainability criteria to accredit and certify sustainable aviation fuels as eligible aviation fuels to avoid fragmentation and proliferation of individual mandates and standards.
Click
here to view AGM resolution on Aviation and the Environment.
It is worth mentioning here that AACO member airlines have committed to net-zero emissions aspirational target for 2050 through a resolution adopted last year at AACO 54th AGM (which is in line with the industry’s commitments adopted under the umbrella of IATA), provided that all stakeholders concerned with civil aviation contribute to that effort; namely, governments, technology partners, engine and airframe manufacturers and fuel suppliers.
This same target for Net-Zero Emissions in 2050 has been adopted recently by ICAO 41st Assembly that also mentioned that reaching this target will rely on the combined effect of accelerated adoption of new and innovative aircraft technologies, streamlined flight operations, and the increased production and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
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On the other hand, the AGM adopted another resolution today stressing the importance of learning from the lessons of the COVID19 pandemic to be able to address any future global health crisis. The AGM resolved to encourage governments to do the following:
1. Revive the international health certificate in a digital format under the umbrella of the World Health Organization, to be ready for governments to use when the need arises.
2. Work under the umbrella of the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization to deploy the recommendations and manual that were developed by ICAO’s Aviation Recovery Task Force that also included the WHO, and to transform them into standards that include guiding actions to be taken when a health crisis occurs.
3. Adopt these standards in their national policies.
4. Work under ICAO to develop guiding material specific for safeguarding the integrity of air services agreements in times of crises based on a set of principles that ensure dialogue between parties of the agreements, consultations, transparency, and clarity and a clear pathway to go back to normalcy.
AACO 55th AGM also expressed its strong support to the recent resolution adopted by ICAO’s latest Assembly that is in line with the above 4 points and called upon its implementation in a speedy manner.
Click
here for AACO 55th AGM resolution on the “Lessons learned from COVID-19 Pandemic”.
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As safety stays the priority of AACO member airlines, AACO 55th AGM drew attention to the risks associated with the air carriage of lithium batteries, if the shippers or individuals do not abide by production and carriage standards as set by the United Nations, ICAO, and IATA. In this regard the AGM encouraged governments to do the following:
a. Increase awareness and training of the security staff at airports to detect and offload lithium batteries from baggage.
b. Share safety data and information on incidents caused by lithium batteries.
c. Invest in technical, operational, and regulatory solutions for detecting lithium batteries.
d. Put enforcement measures on shippers and individuals to declare the carriage of lithium batteries.
e. Work under the umbrella of ICAO towards developing a legal instrument which allows the prosecution of shippers and individuals who fail to declare carriage of lithium batteries in baggage.
AACO 55th AGM also encouraged operators to report all incidents related to lithium batteries to support research in this area, and to provide data for the development of operational, technical, and regulatory solutions by governments. The AGM also called upon screening equipment manufacturers to investigate into technology solutions for enhanced security screening x-ray machines at airports’ security checks to offer automated lithium battery detection, and upon relevant technology providers to help airlines in their pursue for fire containment tools such as fire-resistant containers, fire containment covers and bags, and in smoke displacement systems.
Click
here for AACO 55th AGM resolution on the “Necessary Measures for the Safe Transport of Lithium Batteries”.
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AACO Secretary General’s Report
AACO Secretary General, Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, presented his report to the 55th AGM. His speech and presentation can be viewed
here.
The Secretary General underlined that the air transport industry is barely sensing its way out of the COVID-19 crisis, whereby air traffic is still 17.6% less than 2019 levels, but with the increasing demand on travel, the industry is expected to exceed 2019 traffic levels in 2023 as compared to the previous predictions of 2025 or more. Meanwhile, new challenges are looming on the horizon, being:
1. Escalation of inflation rates
2. Increase of oil prices, and the crack between crude oil and Jet A1 prices
3. Geopolitical tensions
These factors are having adverse effects on the airlines’ efforts to exit the crisis.
Moving on, the Secretary General emphasized the importance of drawing lessons from the COVID-19 crisis in two specific areas:
1. Governments’ Approaches to Air Transport During Global Crises
2. Level of Technological Advancements in Air Travel Processes
Governments’ Approaches to Air Transport During Global Crises
AACO Secretary General called upon governments, individually and through international government organizations, not to forgo lessons of COVID19 crisis and to take the following steps:
1. Revive the international health certificate in a digital form.
2. To call upon governments to adopt the CART guidelines, developed by ICAO and WHO, and ratify them as standard procedures based on scientific criteria and corresponding risk management.
3. To avoid taking unilateral measures regarding air services.
4. To respect the international air services agreements, (bilateral or multilateral), and abide by their provisions when having to impose any urgent health measure for air travelers from any territory of the parties of those agreements.
Level of Technological Advancements in Air Travel Processes
The Secretary General said that digital transformation is at the top of the priorities of the industry as a group and as individual airlines.
Airlines are in an urgent need to work in a digital ecosystem based on two important elements that are: decentralized processing and modular capabilities and dealing with the customer as a human being rather than a number.
He commended the vision of IATA in this area under the banner of “Offer and Order” that includes a substantial transformation on all levels that would require reforming the digital infrastructure of airlines and travel stakeholders.
The Secretary General listed AACO’s scope of work in this area as follows:
1. Digital transformation at the level of the customer, so that the relationship between the customer and the airline becomes resident in a travel market environment for the customer to fulfil all his/her requirements in one location.
2. Knowing the customer by his or her digital identity so that the relationship with the data of that customer does not end by the end of the journey but is used to build a dynamic relationship with him or her.
3. Governments need to recognize digital identity in an interactive way so that travel can be processed by changing the physical validation to a digital one.
The other major topic that the Secretary General dug deep in was the way to deal with climate change and its devastating impacts that are affecting every person on the planet and every industry including air transport.
He mentioned that the issue of climate change as it pertains to air transport is based on three primary pillars, as follows:
1. Long-term aspirational goal of the air transport sector
2. Short-term goal, specifically the "CORSIA" global scheme
3. Proper regulations for sustainable aviation fuels
Long-term aspirational goal of the air transport sector
The Secretary General reminded the AGM that zero net carbon emissions by 2050 is a target that necessitates the availability and integration of the four components listed below:
1. Development of engines and aircraft technologies
2. Sustainable aviation fuels
3. Management of airports and airspace infrastructure
4. Carbon Offsetting: In the various scenarios analyzed by ICAO, IATA, and AACO to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, it was obvious that airlines will need to buy carbon offsetting certificates to close the gap between the emission reductions to be achieved by the first three contributors and the actual goal of zero emissions.
Short-term goal, specifically the "CORSIA" global scheme
The Secretary General expressed that it would have been preferable to maintain the CORSIA baseline at 2019 levels rather than adding additional burden by lowering that baseline. Yet, he welcomed the decision made by the ICAO 41st General Assembly on aviation and the environment in that regard.
Proper regulations for sustainable aviation fuels
The Secretary General listed important principles with regards to Sustainable Aviation Fuels as follows:
First, governments incentivize airlines to use sustainable aviation fuels by removing associated taxes and fees, hence reducing the price of SAF.
Second, governments must agree on international standards to account for all airline certifications.
Third, allowing airlines to use Book & Claim without any geographical restrictions.
Fourth, the harmonization of sustainability criteria to accredit and certify sustainable aviation fuels as eligible aviation fuels, and if harmonization cannot be achieved, all stakeholders' sustainability certificates must be recognized.
Click
here for the full speech of AACO Secretary General
AACO’s Annual Report and Annual Air Transport Statistics: Data on the industry’s recovery to pre-pandemic levels, and the global and regional Air travel and tourism sector was distributed to delegates of the AGM.
The Annual Report and the Annual Arab Air Transport Statistics bulletins were distributed during AACO’s AGM. The Annual Report focused on the aviation’s recovery to pre-pandemic levels, status of the industry in terms of that recovery, and critical industry issues such as climate change, digitization of air transport, safety, security, and aeropolitical affairs. AACO’s work and cooperation initiatives amongst its member airlines are also highlighted in the report.
The Annual Arab Air Transport Statistics bulletin covered 2021 data and included statistics on the global and Arab world economies, global and Arab air travel and tourism, and AACO member and partner airlines’ data.
Major highlights of the data included in the two bulletins are listed here below:
• Traffic to/from and within the Arab world reached around 118 million passengers; increasing by 20.2% in 2021 compared to 2020, while remaining 64.2% below 2019 levels. The improvement in the Arab air transport market reflected the easing of border restrictions and the increase in demand for travel.
• Passengers using Arab airports in 2021 reached 149.3 million passengers, which is 24.2% above 2020 but 60.4% below 2019.
• Cargo handled at Arab airports increased by 11.9% in 2021 compared to 2020 reaching 7.3 million tons of cargo. The volume is 13.1% below 2019.
• By the end of 2021, AACO members passenger traffic measured in RPKs, and seat capacity measured in ASKs reached 58.4% and 50.3% below 2019 levels, respectively. AACO members’ operations are expected to recover further throughout 2022 and reach pre-pandemic levels (2019) by mid-2023.
• By the end of 2021, AACO members’ total fleet reached 1,506 aircraft with in-service aircraft representing 76.0% (1,149 aircraft), increasing by 16.2% compared to 2020, however, remaining 14.6% below 2019 levels. As at 30 June 2022, the number of in-service aircraft increased to reach 82.0% of the total fleet.
• In 2021, operating revenues for AACO member airlines reached USD 48.81 billion, increasing by 77.7% compared to 2020, while remaining 28.0% below 2019 levels. As operations increased in 2021, the operating loss of AACO members dropped significantly from USD 13.26 billion in 2020 to USD 2.0 billion in 2021, putting AACO members closer to pre-pandemic levels.
To download AACO’s Annual Report, please click
here.
To receive AACO’s Annual Arab Air Transport Statistics publication, please send a request to
[email protected], noting that requests will be processed on a case-by-case basis.
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CEOs’ Discussion Panels
The Secretariat General of AACO invited member airlines, regional and international organizations, industry partners, partner airlines, air transport professionals, and the media to participate in two CEOs’ panels, one on Digital Transformation, and the other on Strategic Industry Issues.
1. CEOs’ Panel on Digital Transformation: The high-level discussion on digital transformation of air travel was moderated today by Mr. Muhammad Albakri – IATA SVP – DG-Strategic Leadership Team. The discussion gathered Mrs. Irra Ariella Khi, CEO, Zamna, and Mr. Juan Pablo Lafosse, CEO, Travelx.
2. CEOs’ Panel on Industry Issues – The high-level discussion on industry issues was moderated today by Mr. Eamonn Brennan – Director General of EuroControl. The speakers participating in the discussion were:
1. Mr. Henrik Hololei, Director-General for Mobility and Transport in the European Commission
2. Mr. Antonoaldo Neves, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group
3. Mr. Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai
4. Mr. Maen Razouqi, CEO, Kuwait Airways
5. Ms. Güliz Öztürk, CEO, Pegasus Airlines
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Election of Members of AACO’s Executive Committee
AACO members held a closed session today where they discussed administrative, financial, strategic and other issues related to AACO’s Secretariat General work. The three strategic resolutions referred to at the beginning of this press release were adopted by AACO member airlines during the closed session. On the other hand, the AGM elected a new Executive Committee which now comprises the following CEOs of AACO member airlines, elected for a term of 3 years as per AACO’s bylaws:
Members of AACO Executive Committee:
• Mr. Mohamad El-Hout, Chairman-Director General of Middle East Airlines
• H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways
• Eng. Yehia Zakaria, Chairman & CEO, EgyptAir Holding Company
• Mr. Antonoaldo Neves, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group
• Mr. Bander Almohanna, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, flynas
• Mr. Abdelhamid Addou, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Royal Air Maroc
• Eng. Samer Al-Majali, Vice Chairman and CEO, Royal Jordanian
• H.E. Eng. Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Al Omar / Director General, Saudia
• Mr. Khaled Chelly / Chairman and CEO, Tunisair
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Closing of the AGM
As the AGM concluded, AACO members thanked the 55th AGM Chairman, Mr. Antonoaldo Neves, for chairing this event and for the generous hospitality of Etihad Aviation Group.
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Venue of Forthcoming AGM
The forthcoming 56th AGM in 2023 will be convened in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by kind invitation of Saudia, while AACO 57th AGM in 2024 will be convened in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan by kind invitation of Royal Jordanian.
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Note:
AACO 55th AGM that was held under the patronage of H.E Mr. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, Chairman of Etihad Aviation Group and Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, and by kind invitation of Etihad Aviation Group, was attended by the CEOs of AACO member airlines, AACO partner airlines and industry partners from aircraft and engine manufacturers, Global Distribution Systems (GDSs), IT providers and technology innovators, and others. The AGM also welcomed the European Commission (EC), the EUROCONTROL and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in addition to a number of aviation experts, where the number of delegates surpassed 300.