IATA: Governments & Airlines Must Collaborate

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on industry and governments to work together more closely to keep aviation secure in the face of evolving security threats and the forecast doubling of passenger demand to reach 8.2 billion by 2037.

Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO, said: “Flying is secure. But keeping it that way is not an easy task. Threats are evolving. The geo-political landscape is complex. Technology is rapidly changing and the volumes of both cargo and travellers keeps growing.

“Global standards and collaboration—among governments and industry—is the bedrock of our continued success.”

IATA urged stakeholders to focus on global standards, information-sharing, risk-based analysis and emerging threats to secure aviation for decades to come.

IATA pointed out three critical areas for the world to focus on:

• Securely vetting the millions of airport and airline staff who have access to aircraft
• Ending extra-territorial measures that often require airlines to take on government responsibilities
• Improving the security experience for passengers, even as the number of passengers is set to double over the next two decades

de Junaic concluded: "The digital transformation of the airline industry holds immense promise. But we must ensure that our aviation systems remain safe, secure and resilient against cyber-attack.

IATA Releases 2018 Air Safety Performance Rankings

“Constructive dialogue and timely information-sharing among industry, technology providers and governments will be critical if we are to achieve this.”

IATA added that it is working with airlines, industry stakeholders and other sectors to deliver a strategy early next year that will be a step-change in how the sector addresses the cyberthreat challenge.

Read more: WorldACD - Global Air Cargo Volumes Down