SINGAPORE, 9 June 2023: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to address sustainability challenges in the aviation industry. 

Reduction of single-use plastics products (SUPP) and improving the circularity in the use of plastics by the industry is the initial focus of the partnership as UNEP leads global efforts to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, by the end of 2024.

Making aircraft cabins more sustainable is a priority for airlines and their passengers. The complex and asymmetrical regulatory environment, however, often poses an obstacle by preventing circular economy best practices. In the absence of a global approach, differing regulations at both ends of a journey severely limit the actions that airlines can take.

IATA advocates for a simplified and harmonised regulatory environment that would enable a reduction in plastic utilisation and greater reuse and recycling of cabin waste, including plastics, where they are needed. To this end, the partnership will step-up IATA’s engagement with UNEP to ensure that aviation’s challenges and opportunities are represented in the upcoming international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.

IATA and UNEP are already working on joint guidance on Re-thinking Plastics in Aviation. This comprehensive resource will encompass an overview of regulations, guidance on SUPP replacement, and recommended best practices for both industry and regulators.

“World Environment Day reminds us that sustainability is our global challenge. Formalizing IATA’s longstanding collaboration with UNEP will help airlines move even faster on improving the sustainability of the aircraft cabin. It’s critical that we achieve a harmonised global regulatory framework to enable airlines to implement more comprehensive and common circular economic solutions in all markets, said IATA senior vice president sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen.

“For example, currently, our hands are tied with outdated regulations focused on incineration rather than reuse and recycling. Modernising that will be a big step forward for sustainability,”

More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, only 9% is recycled, with the pollution it generates making it extremely urgent that global action is taken.

(Source: IATA)

SINGAPORE, 8 June 2023: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced continued strong passenger traffic demand in April against the backdrop of easing inflation and resurging consumer confidence.

Total traffic in April 2023 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rose 45.8% compared to April 2022. Globally, traffic is now at 90.5% of pre-Covid levels. At 81.3%, the industry load factor was only 1.8 percentage points below the pre-pandemic level.

Domestic traffic for April rose 42.6% compared to the year-ago period and has now fully recovered, posting a 2.9% increase over the April 2019 results.

International traffic climbed 48.0% versus April 2022, with all markets recording healthy growth, with carriers in the Asia-Pacific region continuing to lead the recovery. International RPKs reached 83.6% of April 2019 levels.

“April continued the strong traffic trend in the 2023 first quarter. The easing of inflation and rising consumer confidence in most OECD countries, combined with declining jet fuel prices, suggests sustained strong air travel demand and moderating cost pressures,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh.

International Passenger Markets

Asia-Pacific airlines saw a192.7% increase inApril 2023 traffic compared to April 2022. Capacity climbed 145.3%, and the load factor increased by 13.2 percentage points to 81.6%.

European carriers had a 22.6% traffic rise versus April 2022. Capacity rose 16.0%, and load factor climbed 4.5 percentage points to 83.3%, the second highest among the regions.

Middle Eastern airlines posted a 38.0% traffic increase compared to April a year ago. Capacity climbed 27.8%, and the load factor rose 5.6 percentage points to 76.2%.

North American carriers’ traffic climbed 34.8% in April 2023 versus 2022. Capacity increased 26.5%, and the load factor rose 5.2 percentage points to 83.8%, the region’s highest. North American international traffic is fully recovered, with RPKs 0.4% above April 2019.

Latin American airlines saw a 25.8% traffic increase compared to the same month in 2022. April capacity climbed 26.4%, and the load factor slipped 0.4 percentage points to 83.1%.

African airlines’ traffic rose53.5% in April 2023 versus a year ago, the second highest among the regions. April capacity was up 50.0%, and the load factor climbed 1.6 percentage points to 69.8%, the region’s lowest.

SINGAPORE, 8 June 2023: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to live up to longstanding international treaty obligations to publish timely and thorough aviation accident reports.

Safety is aviation’s highest priority. Failure to publish prompt and complete accident investigation reports deprives operators, equipment manufacturers, regulators, infrastructure providers and other concerned stakeholders of critical information that could make flying even safer.

“The accident investigation process is one of our most important learning tools when building global safety standards. But to learn from an accident, we need reports that are complete, accessible and timely,” said IATA’s director general Willie Walsh.

The requirements of the Convention of International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) Annex 13 are clear. States in charge of an accident investigation must:

Submit a preliminary report to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) within 30 days of the accident.

Publish the final report that is publicly available as soon as possible and within 12 months of the accident.

Publish interim statements annually should a final report not be possible within 12 months.

Only 96 of the 214 accident investigations during 2018-2022 conform with the requirements of the Chicago Convention. Just 31 reports were published within less than one year of the accident, with the majority (58) taking between one to three years. In addition to the fact that final reports regularly take more than a year, interim statements often provide little more than what was presented in the preliminary report.

“Over the past five years, fewer than half of the required accident reports meet the standards for thoroughness and timeliness. This is an inexcusable violation of requirements stated clearly in the Chicago Convention.
“As an industry, we must raise our voice to governments in defence of the accident investigation process enshrined in Annex 13. And we count on ICAO to remind states that the publication of a complete accident report is not optional. It is an obligation under Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention,” said Walsh.