IATA Calls For Innovation In Airline-Airport Cooperation

SINGAPORE, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for innovation and a renewed agenda of cooperation in the relationship between airports and airlines. Its director-general/chief executive officer, Tony Tyler, said the airports and airlines shared a common interest in making aviation safer, more secure, user-friendly, operationally efficient and environmentally responsible. "Combined, these are our common licence to grow. We need a common and forward-looking agenda that builds on past successes and puts innovation at the heart of our common issues," he said. Tyler said this in his keynote address at the Airports Council International (ACI) World Annual General Assembly in Marrakech, Morocco, which was held from Oct 2 to Wednesday. In a statement, IATA said Tyler highlighted six areas where airports and airlines could enhance cooperation to innovate and deliver value -- safety, security, improving the customer experience, infrastructure investments, environment and charges. "Safety is our top priority and requires a team effort. We are already doing good and important work together in critical areas such as runway safety," he said. He said ACI contributed to building the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) which has become the global standard. Seattle Tacoma and Amsterdam Schiphol now mandated ISAGO as a requirement for all ground operators at their airports, he said. Tyler also called for cooperation between IATA and ACI in promoting the IATA Ground Operations Manual (IGOM). IGOM would be launched in 2012 to globally harmonise ground operations and will become a tool to address deficiencies in safety and efficiency, particularly in rapidly developing markets, he said. -- BERNAMA