-AGM overwhemmingly approved 5 resolutions.

With many resolutions, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) wrapped up successfully its Seoul Meeting, according to Korean Air, the host of the IATA 75th AGM in Seoul.

First, its AGM overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on governments to continue important work for full implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) agreed through the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

CORSIA is the first global carbon pricing instrument for an industry sector. It will cap net CO2 emissions from international aviation at 2020 levels (carbon-neutral growth, or CNG).

IATA panelists discussions. (Courtesy: IATA)

“Airlines know that effective plans to cut emissions are critical to earning their license to meet the growing demands for air connectivity. In fact the strongest demand growth is in the developing world, reflective of aviation’s contribution to 15 of 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. CORSIA sets the stage by capping emissions at 2020 levels. Between 2020 and 2035 it will mitigate over 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 and generate at least $40 billion in finance for carbon reduction initiatives,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

The AGM urged ICAO member states to:

Implement CORSIA as the single global market-based mechanism for climate change mitigation and avoid implementing overlapping or duplicate measures such as unilateral carbon taxes.

Consider volunteering to participate in CORSIA in the pilot phase.

Align domestic regulations on the monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions with CORSIA’s internationally-agreed standards, to prevent market distortions through multiple requirements.

Secondly, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously approved a resolution to improve the air travel experience for the estimated one billion people living with disabilities worldwide, according to its AGM.

The AGM confirms the commitment of airlines to ensuring that passengers with disabilities have access to safe, reliable and dignified travel, and calls upon governments to use IATA’s core principles for accommodating passengers with disabilities.

These principles aim to change the focus from disability to accessibility and inclusion by bringing the travel sector together with governments to harmonize regulations and provide the clarity and global consistency that passengers expect.

Airlines were ahead of their time when, 50 years ago, we set out standards to ensure passengers with disabilities had access to air travel. But now we need to go further. The numbers of persons with disabilities travelling by air are set to increase significantly as populations expand and grow older. We applaud the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. With today’s resolution the industry is committed to ensure that passengers living with disability can travel safely and with dignity,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

The resolution requests that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) apply IATA’s core principles as the basis for its multilateral initiatives on accessibility for passengers with disabilities. This work is vital to help harmonize national legislation and regulations which otherwise could create a patchwork of confusing or even contradictory requirements for passengers and airlines.

Thirdly, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously approved a resolution on slot policy, to reaffirm the importance of a harmonized global airport slot system and called upon governments to urgently address capacity shortages.

More than 200 airports worldwide are Level-3 slot coordinated, meaning that they have insufficient capacity to meet current demand. This number is set to rise substantially over the coming decades because airport construction is failing to keep pace with increased demand for aircraft movements. Globally applied rules for the use of available capacity at constrained airports will therefore become increasingly important.

The AGM reaffirmed that the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG) is the global standard for the policies, principles, and procedures of airport slot allocation and management. The resolution also endorsed a Statement of Objectives for the WSG, which include:

• Facilitating consumer choice and improved global connectivity,

• Providing convenient schedules that meet consumer demand,

• Allocating slots in a transparent non-discriminatory way by an independent slot coordinator, and

• Realizing the full capacity potential of airport infrastructure, through regular capacity reviews.

Fourthly, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously resolved to accelerate the global implementation of the One ID initiative, which uses a single biometric identifier to move passengers through the airport, without the need for paper travel documents.

“Biometric recognition using the One ID concept modernizes the airport experience for passengers and improves the efficiency and security of identification processes. Using global standards for digital identity and data exchange will move us a big step closer to a hassle-free airport experience for passengers. Every traveler will appreciate the convenience of getting from the curb to the gate without ever having to show a paper passport or boarding pass,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

The IATA One ID resolution calls for stakeholders—including airlines, airports and government authorities—to work together to promote and implement a paperless passenger process utilizing biometric recognition.

Specifically, airlines called for:

• The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Member States to endorse the digital travel credential specifications that will offer a secure and efficient alternative to passports.

• Industry to work with states to develop global standards for the safe and secure access, transfer and use of passenger identity information on a need-to-know / allow-to-know basis in-line with various data privacy requirements and regulations.

Last but not least, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously resolved to support the global deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for baggage tracking. The AGM also called for the implementation of modern baggage messaging standards to more accurately track passengers’ baggage in real time across key points in the journey.

In 2018, less than 0.06% of the estimated 4.3 billion bags carried by airlines were mishandled, according to the latest figures from SITA. Since 2007 baggage mishandling have fallen by 70% and today 99.9% of mishandled bags are reunited with their owners within two days.

RFID read rates are 99.98% accurate which is significantly better than that of bar codes. And modern messaging standards will enable airlines to proactively take action when there is potential for mishandling. Combined, RFID and modern messaging standards, should reduce the mishandling rate by 25%.

“Passengers want to arrive with their bags. And on the rare occasion when that does not happen, they want to know exactly where their bag is. Deploying RFID and adopting modern baggage messaging standards will help us to cut mishandlings by a quarter and recover bags that are mishandled more quickly,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO.

The resolution commits airlines to:

• Transition to bar-coded bag tags with RFID inlays.

• Use RFID data alerts to enact processes with airports and ground handlers that prevent potential mishandlings.

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