IATA’s Regional Vice President, Americas, shares his views on crisis recovery

1. In simple terms, what do you expect will be the lasting effects of this crisis to the region’s overall aviation ecosystem?

Unfortunately the effects of COVID-19 outbreak are a major setback for aviation, especially across Latin America and the Caribbean. Over the past years our industry had become a major socio-economic enabler for this region, allowing many people to fly for the first time in their lives. Let us not forget that unlike North America, Europe or many parts of Asia, we have no comparable alternative to flying. And while airlines slowly resume operations and rebuild networks and connectivity, accessibility to air travel will no doubt suffer, as airlines will be forced to shrink the number of destinations they serve or reduce the number of flights they offer. A further threat we see is that necessary investments into aviation infrastructure will be cut or postponed. However, in many places we were already operating under various capacity constraints during pre-COVID-19 times, and if we do not use the opportunity now to properly prepare for the future, as a region we will lose out to others, once traffic returns to 2019 levels in three to four years’ time.

2. What is IATA doing to help advocate for the airlines and other aviation industry stakeholders?

IATA has been in contact with all governments in the region advocating for financial relief for the industry, while at the same time working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in devising the Take-Off Guidelines which provide internationally harmonized recommendations on how to restart the industry. Our main task now is to ensure that governments implement the ICAO guidelines so aviation can restart.

3. As a business traveler, what can we do to support the aviation industry in the region?

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all of us to resort to using the modern communication technologies which are available today. While we have all grown accustomed to Zooming, Webexing, MS Teams Meetings, Skyping, Google Meeting, etc., we have also experienced the limitations of these systems. Given the fact that personal contact is a cultural cornerstone in our region, all this virtual communication has highlighted the need and benefits of face-to-face meetings. Therefore, I urge all that, once borders re-open, to consider seeing their clients, business partners, etc. in person, of course respecting all public health guidelines.

4. Are there any other regions that Latin America can look to for best practices when traveling restarts in earnest?

Latin America is the part of the world which was last to be hit by the virus and thus our expectations are that we will also be the last region to come out of this pandemic. That being said, we are seeing numbers rise again in parts of the world which seem to have had COVID-19 under control. In theory, we should be benefitting from the experiences made especially in Asia and Europe where industry has restarted, but we are seeing many governments still very reluctant to allow aviation to take-off once again. We fully understand that governments’ top priority is to protect the health of their citizens, but the aviation industry has acted quickly and in a coordinated fashion on a global scale, to ensure that guidelines for the safe operation are in place. From the experience gained in restarting flights in other parts of the world, as well as from the many hundred repatriation flights operated to and from Latin America, we can say that the measures which are now in place, have created an environment where people can fly with confidence. We now must convince governments to once again let aviation play its important role as a catalyst for socio-economic development across Latin America and the Caribbean.