IATA’s outgoing Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tony Tyler, made the call at the ongoing Annual General Meeting of the organisation in Dublin, Ireland.
Tyler said in a statement issued by IATA’s Corporate Communications Directorate, Friday, in Abuja, that total airline funds blocked from repatriation in Nigeria were nearing 600 million dollars.
According to the statement, IATA’s monitoring of blocked funds globally showed that the amount involved has exceeded five billion dollars with Nigeria and Venezuela as the top two countries involved.
It explained that repatriation issues in Nigeria arose in the second half of 2015 when the demand for foreign currency outpaced supply and the country’s banks were not able to service currency repatriations.
The further statement said that airline funds blocked from repatriation in Venezuela totalled 3.8 billion dollars.
It named the top five countries blocking repatriation of airline funds as Nigeria, Venezuela, Sudan, Egypt and Angola.
“Blocked funds are a problem in a diverse group of countries, some of them undergoing significant economic challenges, particularly with a fall in oil revenues.
“But one thing all five nations have in common is the urgent need for robust air connectivity that is being hampered by airlines’ difficulty in repatriating funds.
“Air connectivity is vital to all economies because the airline industry is a competitive business operating on thin margins.
“So, efficient repatriation of revenues is critical for airlines to be able to play their role as a catalyst for economic activity.
“It is not reasonable to expect airlines to invest and operate in nations where they cannot efficiently collect payment for their services,” the statement said.
According to the statement, strong connectivity is an economic enabler and generates considerable economic and social benefits, something that struggling economies need more than ever.
” It is in everybody’s interest to ensure that airlines are paid on time, at fair exchange rates and in full,” it added.
Meanwhile, the body, Friday, announced leadership changes at the conclusion of the Association’s 72nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dublin, Ireland.
Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG) succeeds Andres Conesa, CEO of Aeromexico, as Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG). Walsh, who represents British Airways (BA) on the IATA BoG, takes up his duties immediately for a one-year term until the conclusion of IATA’s 73rd AGM.
Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM, was confirmed to succeed Tony Tyler as IATA’s Director General and CEO. His appointment is effective from 1 September 2016.
Walsh is the 75th Chair of the IATA BoG and the sixth to fulfil that function while representing BA or its predecessor airlines. He has served on the IATA BoG continuously since 2005.
“I’m honored to serve in this important role at such a critical time. Our top priority is getting governments’ agreement on a global market-based measure to manage aviation’s carbon emissions at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization later this year. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity which is vital if our industry is to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020,” said Walsh.
“Too often government policies limit aviation’s ability to be a catalyst for economic growth and development. Excessive taxes rob our industry of its vitality while costly and ineffective infrastructure constrains our ability to support rising demand for connectivity. Regulation often comes with negative consequences for both passengers and airlines. I look forward to supporting Alexandre de Juniac as he takes the reins at IATA. Together we will ensure that IATA has an even stronger voice of leadership on these issues.” said Walsh.
The Board also appointed Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, to serve as Board Chair-elect for a one-year term as from the close of the 2016 AGM and to take office from June 2017 following Walsh’s term.
The 72nd AGM approved the Nominating Committee’s recommended appointments to the current BoG bringing it to full strength with 31 members.
The new Director General will be the seventh person to lead IATA as its Director General.
“I thank my industry colleagues for their confidence in confirming me as IATA’s next Director General and CEO. Aviation is a vitally important industry—connecting economies, facilitating business, creating jobs and linking people. I have big shoes to fill as Tony Tyler has done an excellent job over the last five years.
“I know how challenging it is to run an airline and how much airlines depend on IATA to support their business—to safely process industry money, to deliver effective advocacy, to lead global initiatives and to provide relevant products and services. My aim is to help airlines to be even more successful businesses creating even greater economic and social value. I want all of our members to have a future that is even safer, more efficient, sustainable and increasingly profitable,” said de Juniac.
De Juniac is a French businessman. He will join IATA from Air France-KLM where has served as Chairman and CEO since 2013. Prior to that, he was the Chairman and CEO of Air France (2011-2013). From 1995 to 2009 de Juniac held various leadership positions in Thales (the French aerospace, space, defense, and transport company previously known as Thomson-CSF and Thomson SA). De Juniac has also held positions in the French government, including with the State Council (1988 to 1993), the Department of Budget (1993-1995); and in the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment (2009-2011).
Commenting, outgoing Director General, Tyler said: “IATA will be in good hands under the leadership of Willie Walsh as Chairman of the BoG and Alexandre de Juniac as the Director General and CEO. I want to extend my thanks to the membership, the BoG and five exceptional BoG chairmen. They have guided me and the IATA team with wise counsel and tremendous support over the last five years.
“Working together—IATA with its members—we have made our association stronger with closer partnerships across the industry. And with those partnerships we have made significant progress towards improving safety, modernizing distribution, promoting smarter regulation and managing our climate change impact. There is always, of course, more work to do. I am fully committed to my duties until September when I hand over to Alexandre the responsibility of supporting our members to be profitable businesses that are a force for good in our world,” said Tyler.
