IATA AGM: IMPORTANT RESOLUTIONS FOR INDUSTRY'S FUTURE ADOPTED

On the final day of the 57th Annual General Meeting and World Aviation Summit in Madrid, 29 May, IATA Members addressed four critical issues impacting on the industry's future. They passed resolutions to make the industry even safer, to minimise its environmental impact, to make providers of aviation infrastructure services accountable to their customers and to reduce the cost of financing future aircraft assets.

Specifically:

Operational Quality Standards for IATA Members were extended in their scope and the new Safety Audit Programme was endorsed as a means to harmonise existing audit standards, auditor qualification and their international recognition.

New noise stringency standards for the manufacture of new aircraft were welcomed and delegates urged national, regional and local authorities to ensure that effective land use planning and management measures are in place around airports. ICAO's recommendation for a ' balanced approach ' to noise was endorsed.

A call was made for service level agreements to be established, to ensure that infrastructure providers deliver agreed levels of service, to airlines and the travelling public. Governments and infrastructure providers were called on to ensure that capacity meets market demands in the future.

Governments were urged to support the adoption of a proposed Convention and Protocol on advanced asset - based financing and leasing, which would reduce the cost of credit by substantial sums. Such adoption would take place at the Diplomatic Conference in Capetown, October 2001.