Willie Walsh named new CEO of Iata

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) announced on Tuesday that its director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac will step down from his role at the association on March 31, 2021.

Willie Walsh, former CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG) will become Iata’s eighth director-general and assume the charge from April 1, 2021, the aviation body said.

De Juniac made known his intention to step down from the association several months ago which enabled a search process to facilitate a smooth leadership transition. The Iata board of governors at its 76th annual general meeting on Tueday recommended the appointment of Willie Walsh.

“I did not come to this decision lightly. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the global air transport industry — what I call the business of freedom — as the head of Iata. Over the last years Iata has strategically increased its relevance as the voice of the global airline industry. This has been evident in the Covid-19 crisis.” said de Juniac, who joined Iata in September 2016 from Air France-KLM where he was Chairman and CEO.

“Alexandre has led our industry in extraordinary times. I am convinced that Willie will be a great girector=general for Iata,” said Carsten Spohr, chair of the Iata board of governors and CEO of Lufthansa.

Airlines losses

Meanwhile, airlines are on course to lose a total $157 billion this year and next, Iata warned on Tuesday, further downgrading its industry outlook in response to a second wave of coronavirus infections and shutdowns afflicting major markets.

The aviation body, which in June had forecast $100 billion in losses for the two-year period, said it now projects a $118.5 billion deficit this year alone, and a further $38.7 billion for 2021.

The bleak outlook underscores challenges still facing the sector despite upbeat news on development of Covid-19 vaccines, whose global deployment will continue throughout next year.

“The positive impact it will have on the economy and air traffic will not happen massively before mid-2021,” de Juniac told Reuters.

Passenger numbers are expected to drop to 1.8 billion this year from 4.5 billion in 2019, Iata estimates, and will recover only partially to 2.8 billion next year. Passenger revenue for 2020 is expected to have plunged 69 per cent to $191 billion.

The forecasts assume some re-opening of borders by the middle of next year, helped by some combination of Covid-19 testing and vaccine deployment.

Iata reiterated its call for governments to replace travel-stifling quarantine regimes with widespread testing programmes.

“We are seeing states progressively coming to listen to us,” de Juniac said, citing testing initiatives underway in France, Germany, Italy, Britain, the United States and Singapore.

“While some governments and airlines such as Australia’s Qantas say passengers are likely to require vaccination for long-haul travel, the approach is unlikely to work everywhere,” de Juniac said.

“It would prevent people who are refusing (the vaccine) from travelling,” the Iata chief said. “Systematic testing is even more critical to reopen borders than the vaccine.”

Air cargo, a rare bright spot for the industry as the grounding of flights pushes freight prices higher, will likely see global revenue rise 15% to $117.7 billion this year despite an 11.6 per cent decline in volume to 54.2 million tonnes, Iata said.

— With inputs from Reuters