Dead Sea on the evening of 30 October 2024 – AACO 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held today at the Dead Sea, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The AGM working sessions were chaired by Eng. Samer Majali - Vice Chairman / Board Designee CEO of Royal Jordanian, and featured a report by Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha - Secretary General of AACO on the “State of the Industry”; a Tribute to H.E. Akbar Al-Baker - Advisor to H.E. the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar; a speech by Mr. Mohamad Rahma - Director of ICAO’s Air Transport Bureau commemorating the 80th Anniversary of Chicago Convention; a high level discussion during the “Arab Aviation Summit”; the launch of “Eco-Mission” solution; and a closed session for AACO member airlines where they agreed on administrative and strategic issues including the adoption of the AACO Environmental Sustainability Strategy that mandated AACO to advocate for the following:
1- With regards to general policies on aviation’s environmental sustainability, the AGM called upon ICAO to work on bringing varying environmental regulations into a framework that ensures mutual recognition of environmental benefits, particularly in terms of emission reduction, and avoids double counting of obligations and credits. The AGM also called upon states to take into consideration, when formulating policies on sustainability, the long-term impact on air transport activities and their contribution to economic growth and job creation. The AGM as well called for the exploration of potential production of aviation cleaner energies in the Arab world; for reforming and modernizing the infrastructure around the world and prioritizing technology advancements in engine and airframe manufacturing; and all states around the world to refrain from including non-CO2 emissions in aviation policies until there’s enough scientific certainty on their impact and ways to monitor and mitigate them.
2- With regards to CORSIA, AACO AGM called upon states to register their local sustainability projects to be certified by ICAO Council to issue carbon certificates that airlines can use to offset their emissions under CORSIA, and to allocate credits of their sustainability projects considering the airlines’ need for those certificates to fulfill their international and national environmental obligations.
3- With regards to aviation cleaner energies, AACO AGM called upon ICAO to recognize, under CORSIA or any other ICAO emission reduction program, reduction in emissions resulting from the use of SAF and LCAF that are mandated or required by regional or national regulations, without prejudice to ICAO’s standards under CORSIA. The AGM also called upon states to adopt incentive-based policies for the production and uptake of SAF/LCAF and aviation cleaner energies, and suggested principles for any mandate or target that states opt to adopt, while also calling upon them to include their plans for such policies in the “State Action Plans” they submit to ICAO.
Click here to view the full text of AACO 57th AGM resolution on Aviation and Environmental Sustainability.
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Tribute to H.E. Akbar Al Baker
Th AGM paid tribute to H.E. Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Advisor to H.E. the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, who had lead Qatar Airways as its Chief Executive Officer from 1997 till 2023. During his tenure at Qatar Airways, H.E. Al Baker was first elected member of the AACO Executive Committee in 2011 and served on the Committee until 2023. He was elected Chairman of the Executive Committee in 2013 for three years. Qatar Airways had hosted AACO’s AGMs in 2001, 2013, and 2021, where H.E. Al Baker chaired those AGMs. During all that time, he played a pivotal and inspiring role in strengthening and supporting AACO’s work and the aviation industry as whole.
AACO Secretary General’s Report
AACO Secretary General, Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, presented his report on the “State of the Industry” to the 57th AGM. His speech and presentation can be viewed here.
In his report, the Secretary General re-emphasized the resilience of the air transport industry in the face of crises, highlighting data that show how the industry registered traffic in 2024 that is higher than 2019 (which was the year before the COVID-19 pandemic). The Secretary General listed a number of factors that enable the industry to overcome crises that could be summarized as follows:
1. Air transport has become part and parcel of people’s way of life and a commodity that represents a foundation for providing people with their basic needs.
2. Air transport is considered the backbone of one of the important economic activities which is tourism.
3. It is considered by many states as an economic lever to achieve their development plans.
The Secretary General moved on to highlight the major challenges of the industry, in particular: periodic economic crises, current supply chain crisis, and instability due to war in the region. He gave special focus to challenges related to environmental sustainability especially some governments’ approach to addressing this challenge when it comes to aviation. He emphasized that air transport is totally committed to eradicating its impact on climate change. However, he brought focus to the challenges airlines face in meeting their environmental objectives and compliance efforts with the proliferating regulatory requirements in this area. The Secretary General announced that AACO member airlines adopted a strategy to deal with these challenges that could be summarized as follows:
1- Reaching an international framework by ICAO for the mutual recognition of the reduction in emissions based on the laws of the countries concerned.
2- To call upon states to adopt incentive-based policies for the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel and low carbon aviation fuel.
3- Refraining from passing on the penalties that are imposed on producers to airlines.
4- Establishing a global Book & Claim system for sustainable aviation fuel.
5- States to register their local environmental projects to be mandated by ICAO’s Council to issue carbon offset certificates under CORSIA.
The Secretary General also announced the launch of “Eco Mission” which is a sustainability management solution developed by SITA that came to being after extensive work by AACO member airlines and SITA that spent the last year testing and developing this solution that is now available to AACO members and airlines around the world.
At the end of this report, the Secretary General congratulated ICAO on its 80th anniversary and that of the Chicago Convention, reiterating ICAO’s important role as the umbrella of civil aviation, the meeting ground of the airlines and civil aviation authorities, and the basis for maintaining this industry as a bridge of communication, empathy and added value to the whole world.
Click here for the full speech of AACO Secretary General.
Speech by the Director of ICAO’s Air Transport Bureau commemorating the 80th Anniversary of Chicago Convention:
Mr. Mohamad Rahma, Director of ICAO’s Air Transport Bureau, gave a speech at the AGM commemorating the 80th Anniversary of Chicago Convention.
Click here for the full speech of ICAO’s Director of Air Transport Bureau.
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Launch of the “Eco-Mission” Solution:
Following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between AACO and SITA at last year’s AGM, that aimed at testing and undergoing a proof of concept for the “Eco Mission” solution with a number of AACO members, today AACO announced the launch of the solution which will assist AACO members and airlines around the world in delivering their sustainability objectives by helping them manage their compliance to the various relevant regulations, and providing them with a solution that would ensure transparency of environmental performance to regulators and customers.
Click here for the official press release about the launch of "Eco Mission"
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Arab Aviation Summit
AACO invited member airlines, regional and international organizations, industry partners, partner airlines, air transport professionals, and the media to participate in the Arab Aviation Summit that is held annually at the AACO AGM. The summit witnessed an open discussion on the state of affairs of the industry and relevant strategic issues.
This year the panel was moderated by Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, AACO Secretary General. The speakers participating in the discussion were:
• Eng. Samer Majali, Vice Chairman / Board Designee CEO of Royal Jordanian
• Mr. Mohamad A. El-Hout, Chairman - Director General / Middle East Airlines
• Mr. Mohamad Rahma, Director of Air Transport Bureau/ International Civil Aviation Organization
• Eng. Maryam Al-Balooshi, State Lead Negotiator for Aviation Climate Change Vice Chair of the Committee of Aviation Environment Protection (CAEP)
Click here to watch the panel discussion.
AACO’s Annual Report and Annual Air Transport Statistics: Data on the industry’s performance at the global and regional levels was distributed to delegates of the AGM through AACO’s Annual Report and the Annual Arab Air Transport Statistics bulletin.
The Annual Report recapped AACO’s work over the past year with a particular focus on digital transformation and environmental sustainability. It also outlined the necessary mechanisms and roadmaps to address these priorities. The report included economy and travel data and statistics for 2023 and half year of 2024, AACO’s areas of work including environmental sustainability, fuel project, aero-political issues, aviation’s safety and security, engineering and maintenance, ground handling, emergency response planning, in-flight medical emergencies, and other areas.
The Annual Arab Air Transport Statistics bulletin covered 2023 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:
• Total passenger traffic to/from and within the Arab world reached around 321 million passengers; increasing by 17.6% in 2023 compared to 2022, while remaining 4.6% below 2019 levels.
• Passengers using Arab airports in 2023 reached 415.7 million passengers, an increase of 28.8% and 5.5% compared to 2022 and 2019, respectively.
• Despite growing by 7.3% compared to 2022, cargo handled at Arab airports in 2023 remained 10.2% below 2019 levels, reflecting the slowdown in global trade.
• By the end of 2023, AACO members’ passenger traffic measured in RPKs, and seat capacity measured in ASKs grew by 27.5% and 20.8%, respectively, compared to 2022. During the first half of 2024, AACO members’ operations increased significantly, with RPKs exceeding 2019 levels by 7.5% and ASKs leveling with 2019 figures
• As at June 30, 2023, AACO members’ total fleet reached 1,630 aircraft with in-service aircraft representing 86% (1,407 aircraft). In 2023, AACO members received 106 brand new aircraft, reducing the order backlog that was highly disrupted since 2020.
• In 2023, AACO members recorded an increase in profits, achieving around USD 89 billion in total revenues (28.2% above 2019 levels), and total costs reaching around USD 82 billion (15.2% above 2019 levels). This has resulted in a net profit of USD 7 billion with a net margin of 7.8%.
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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Closing of the AGM
As the AGM concluded, AACO members thanked the 57th AGM Chairman, Eng. Samer Majali, Vice Chairman / Board Designee CEO of Royal Jordanian, for leading this event and for the generous hospitality of Royal Jordanian.
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Venue of Forthcoming AGM
The forthcoming 58th AGM in 2025 will be convened in Morocco by kind invitation of Mr. Abdelhamid Addou / Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer of Royal Air Maroc.
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Note:
AACO 57th AGM was held under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, and by kind invitation of Eng. Samer Majali, Vice Chairman / Board Designee CEO of Royal Jordanian and Chairman of AACO 57th AGM, at the ‘Kempinski Hotel Ishtar’ in the Dead Sea, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 29 to 31 October 2024, and welcomed over 200 delegates.
The AGM is the major event on AACO’s calendar which brings together the CEOs of member airlines, in addition to a large number of stakeholders, AACO partner airlines and industry partners, as well as international and local press which are gathered for two days of networking, brainstorming on industry issues and high-level discussions.