EXCLUSIVE — IATA CEO Panel Tackles Thorny Issues

China’s insistence that airlines flying there identify Taiwan as mainland territory in their onboard route maps and other literature aimed at passengers or have their home countries face economic sanctions has become a thorny issue on the sidelines of the 74th IATA AGM in Sydney, reports PressToday’s Mike Dunbar, who’s attending the event.

Some 26 carriers including Air Canada and host airline Qantas have complied with the demand that topped TV newscasts the following morning.

During an airline CEO panel discussion MC’d by CNN’s Richard Quest, AC boss Calvin Rovinescu explained, “It’s a tricky issue; we’re a private sector company with private sector interests and, as difficult and as sensitive an issue as it is, we comply with the Chinese government. But we don’t want to make it an issue.”