IATA: global travel hampered by slow US reaction to hassles. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for the White House and Congressional politicians in the United States to take more aggressive short-term action to mitigate air traffic congestion and the lingering security hassles.

“President Bush’s recent announcement about making limited airspace changes in an attempt to alleviate congestion during the holidays is a political placebo for a serious long-term illness,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. He warned that there would likely be more air delays next summer if the Government continues to move too slowly in making capacity and efficiency improvements. “Instead of addressing the problem, DOT wants to change the way people travel by making it more expensive at peak times,” Bisignani said.

The White House is considering peak pricing at New York JFK airport as a band-aid for delays, but Bisignani said that “congestion pricing has never worked effectively for air transport anywhere in the world so it is foolhardy to believe that it will work in New York.” Instead, the US Government should implement the IATA Worldwide Scheduling Guidelines and immediately implement operational and infrastructure improvements.

“There’s already a list of at least 75 projects that could begin tomorrow and we can’t wait any longer,” Bisignani said.

Security and Environment

In a speech to the Aero Club of Washington, Bisignani urged industry leaders in Washington also to focus on security and the environment. To comply with a growing list of security regulations, the industry is now paying US$ 5.9 billion a year – US$ 300 million higher than previous estimates. He called for an open and transparent approach to the problems and the solutions because too many kneejerk security enhancement decisions are being based on fear, even though the threat hasn’t changed.

This is wasteful of limited and precious resources. „We need to cut through the government red tape and focus on harmonized processes around the globe and push for simplification,“ Bisignani said. „We must invest in new technology to help security become smarter, faster and easier to manage.”

The financial outlook of US carriers is mixed. They have gone from industry sick-man to the most profitable of any region in the world. Although this is an incredible turnaround it’s too early to open the champagne. Airlines are US$ 200 billion in debt and there is little cash in the bank to cushion the fall into any economic downturn. US carriers are operating aging fleets and labour is also putting pressure on airlines as soon as the industry shows even fragile profits. „If labour pursues an agenda as an irresponsible adversary everybody’s future is limited,” said Bisignani.

Zeri Emission Target

IATA’s four-pillar environment strategy to address climate change is first to invest in technology; second to build and operate efficient infrastructures; third to fly planes efficiently; and fourth to explore economic measures. The goal is carbon neutral growth in the medium-term leading to zero carbon emissions.

The US Government was among the 179 States attending the Triennial Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, which endorsed the strategy and IATA’s target to attain a 25% fuel efficiency increase by 2020. „Europe is our biggest disappointment, as it is fixated on emissions trading“, Bisignani said. „This is against the Chicago Convention and I support the US in challenging this in the world’s courts.“

He also rang a warning bell, saying that we should not wait for a communications crisis before starting to talk about the environment. Bisignani concluded: „We have a solid track record and an ambitious vision to become a zero-emissions industry. Now is the time to communicate to help passengers and stakeholders understand that aviation is setting the highest benchmarks in environmental performance of any industry.”

Contact:

Steve Lott
IATA North America, Washington, USA
Tel.: +1 202 628 9292
Fax: +1 202 628 9448
lotts@iata.org
www.iata.org