An estimated 24.9 million people are illegally trafficked and live in conditions of modern slavery.
SYDNEY – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 74th Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved a resolution denouncing trafficking in persons, and committing to a number of actions related to anti-trafficking initiatives.
An estimated 24.9 million people are illegally trafficked and live in conditions of modern slavery. The extensive reach of the global air transport network means that unfortunately, airlines are used by traffickers to facilitate their activities.
"Aviation is the business of freedom, flying 4 billion people to every corner of the earth last year alone. Some, however, try to use our networks nefariously. Trafficking in people creates misery for millions, and funds criminal gangs and terrorism. As a responsible industry, our members are determined to help authorities stamp out human trafficking," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
The resolution highlights several areas key to fighting human trafficking:
Best Practices: The resolution calls for sharing of best practices among airlines. Many airlines are already active in the fight against human trafficking. Many of the best practices they have developed now appear in the IATA Human Trafficking Guidelines, designed to assist airlines to take the right response to this challenge.
Training: The resolution also commits airlines to train relevant operational staff with the objective of identifying potential trafficking situations and taking appropriate action that does not compromise the safety of the victim.
A Team Effort in Reporting: The resolution also calls on government authorities to establish clear, practical and discreet mechanisms for the reporting of potential trafficking activity in the air transport system. Human traffickers operate in plain sight and can only be stopped with the full cooperation of all parts of the value chain, especially airport operators, ground handling agents and other air transport system stakeholders.
Mira Sorvino, an Academy Award-winning actress and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) addressed the IATA AGM via video. "I commend IATA for working with UNODC to raise awareness and provide tools and guidance to help airlines get involved in anti-trafficking initiatives. Your "eyes open" campaign has really helped to bring this issue up the agenda. And many congratulations to all of those individual airlines that are already working on this issue. No one is expecting the aviation industry to take over the role of law enforcement. But you and your staff can become additional boots on the ground to support them in the fight against this horrific crime," she said.
The Human Trafficking Guidelines for airlines are available to download.
Akbar Al Baker New IATA Board Chairman
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, has assumed his duties as Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term effective from the conclusion of the 74th IATA Annual General Meeting in Sydney, Australia. Al Baker is the 77th chair of the IATA BoG and the first CEO from Qatar Airways to hold the position. He has served on the BoG since 2012. He succeeds Goh Choon Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said, "I am delighted to be here in Sydney and honored to be leading the IATA Board of Governors as Chairman for the year ahead. To be nominated to such a prestigious leadership position in the industry is a great honour, made all the more pertinent in the difficult circumstances in which Qatar Airways currently operates.
"I look forward to continuing my work in the coming year for our great aviation industry, connecting safely the peoples of the world, a sector which will only continue to grow in the years ahead, and one in which I am most proud to work and represent one of the world leading airlines."
Al-Baker was named Qatar Airways’ Group Chief Executive in 1997. In this position, Al Baker has spearheaded the growth of Qatar Airways from a small regional carrier into a major global. He was president of the 70th AGM which was held in Doha in 2014.
"I want to thank Goh Choon Phong for his strong support and leadership over the past year. He has led major changes in IATA’s governance that will enable the association to work even more closely with its members. Under his leadership the industry approved a major modernization of our settlement systems, and made excellent progress on transformative initiatives such as New Distribution Capability and ONE Order. Choon Phong’s insights were particularly helpful as we contended with the PEDs ban and growing infrastructure capacity shortfalls in key regions, while also working with governments to prepare for the arrival of the historic CORSIA program to help airlines manage their future emissions growth," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
"I am confident that Akbar will be a strong voice on behalf of the Business of Freedom in the face of growing challenges including creeping re-regulation and a movement away from open borders and toward trade protectionism and restrictions on the free movement of people. I look forward to working with him on these and other key industry issues," said de Juniac.
IATA also announced that Carsten Spohr, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa, will serve as Chairman of the BoG from June 2019, following Al Baker’s term.
The full list of the 2018-2019 IATA Board of Governors is as follows:
- Calin Rovinescu, President and CEO – Air Canada
- Maria Jose Hidalgo Gutierrez, CEO – Air Europa
- Franck Terner, CEO – Air France
- Douglas Parker, Chief Executive Officer – American Airlines
- Harry Hohmeister, Chairman – Austrian Airlines
- German Efromovich, Chairman – Avianca
- Rupert Hogg, Chairman and CEO – Cathay Pacific
- Liu Shaoyong, Chairman – China Eastern Airlines
- Tan Wangeng, President and CEO – China Southern Airlines
- Pedro Heilbron, CEO – Copa Airlines
- Safwat Musallam, Chairman and CEO – EgyptAir
- Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO – Ethiopian Airlines
- David Bronczek, President and CEO – FEDEX Corporation
- Christine Ourmieres-Widener, CEO – FlyBe
- Luis Gallego Martin, CEO – Iberia
- Yuji Akasaka, President – Japan Airlines
- Naresh Goyal, Chairman – Jet Airways (India) Ltd.
- Robin Hayes, CEO – JetBlue Airways
- Sebastian Mikosz, Managing Director and CEO – Kenya Airways
- Pieter Elbers, President and CEO – KLM
- Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO – Korean Air
- Enrique Cueto, CEO – LATAM
- Carsten Spohr, Chairman and CEO – Lufthansa
- Mohamad El-Hout, Chairman/Director General – Middle East Airlines
- Alan Joyce, CEO – Qantas
- Akbar Al Baker, CEO – Qatar Airways
- Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO – SAS
- Saleh Nasser Al Jasser, Director General – Saudi Arabian Airlines
- Goh Choon Phong, CEO – Singapore Airlines
- Oscar Munoz, CEO – United Airlines
- Pham Ngoc Minh, Chairman – Vietnam Airlines
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
