Meeting The Challenges
As IATA sees it, continuous safety enhancement, the availability of cost-efficient infrastructure and environmental responsibility are critical factors in ensuring that Asia-Pacific continues to realize the enormous economic and social benefits of air connectivity.
IATA’s director general and CEO, Tony Tyler observed, during his keynote address at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Assembly of Presidents in Tokyo recently, that: “It is no understatement to say that air connectivity underpins modern economies. Aviation and aviation-enabled tourism accounts for over 24 million jobs and over $500 billion in economic activity across the Asia-Pacific region. And that contribution has tremendous potential to grow.”
In 2014, some 3.3 billion passengers are expected to board flights globally and that number is expected to grow to 7.3 billion by 2034. Taking into account connecting flights that consists of some 2.8 billion journeys today, growing to 6.1 billion by 2034. By 2034, IATA expects that nearly half of all air travel (some 2.9 billion journeys) will touch the Asia-Pacific region (up from around 40% today). Over the next 20 years, Asia-Pacific is expected to account for about two-thirds of global growth.
Said Tyler: “Aviation is an industry with tremendous potential. Asia-Pacific is leading the industry’s growth. But there will be challenges to become ever safer, to provide cost-efficient infrastructure and to ensure environmental responsibility.”
Go to http://www.iata.org for more.
