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SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh also joins the board
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) has announced that Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive Officer, Lufthansa Group will be the Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term effective from the conclusion of the AGM in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Spice Jet also got elected to the board of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), less than three months after the airline joined the global grouping.
Spohr, who has been associated with IATA’s Board of Governors since May 2014, will be the 78th chairman of the BoG. He will succeed, Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive, Qatar Airways Group on his new position.
Delighted on the announcement, Spohr said, “I’m honoured and excited to take on this role at this important time for our industry. We face a number of challenges, including growing protectionism, high taxes and trade wars. Now we must map out the path to achieving our much more ambitious 2050 goal — to cut net emissions to half 2005 levels”.
He further said, “Aviation is serious about its climate change commitments. And we will be pushing hard for governments to do their part by sorting air traffic management inefficiencies and laying the policy framework for the commercialization of sustainable aviation fuels.”
“I look forward to working with Carsten as Chair of the IATA Board of Governors. As we continually seek to broaden the IATA membership, his experience within the Lufthansa Group will be particularly valuable,” said Akbar Al Baker, the outgoing Chairman of IATA.
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO, said, “I also want to thank Akbar Al Baker for his strong leadership and support as Chairman over the last year. Under his leadership, IATA has made progress on a number of IATA initiatives including New Distribution Capability, One ID and digital transformation.”
IATA also announced that JetBlue Airways President and CEO Robin Hayes will serve as Chairman of the BoG from June 2020, following Spohr’s term.
