The 61st Association of Asia Pacific
Airlines (AAPA) Assembly of
Presidents saw industry leaders
gathering to discuss a number of
important subjects impacting the air
cargo industry. Aviation Security,
Environment, Infrastructure, Slots,
and Charges & Taxes, were among
the topics that were covered in the
two-day meeting.

There is good reason to be positive
about the continuing growThof air
traffic, but this growThhas also been
accompanied by considerable pressure
on yields, along wiTha number of other
threats; the most serious and widely
recognised being restrictive government
policies, excessive taxes and charges, and
a lack of shared vision for the industry.

“Air transport is widely recognised
as a key contributor to economic
development and nowhere is this more
evident than in the Asia Pacific region,”
said Andrew Herdman, director general
of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

“WiThthe outlook for the world economy
remaining positive, AAPA is determined
to tackle the numerous challenges that
face the region’s air transport industry.”
Safety continues to be the industry’s
number one priority, wiThcarriers
maintaining the highest safety standards
in 2017. Nonetheless, Asia-Pacific
carriers recognise the need for vigilance
at all operational levels. The association
plays an important role in actively
engaging wiThregulators and other
industry stakeholders to share lessons
learned and prioritise enhanced
safety measures.

AAPA welcomed the recent removal
of ICAO’s “red flag” on safety concerns in Thailand, as a result of concrete actions
taken by the government of Thailand
to improve safety oversight. However,
AAPA also recognised that more efforts
are needed in resolving regulatory
oversight issues elsewhere in the region,
strongly supporting the ICAO ‘No
Country Left Behind’ campaign aiming
to address disparities in the quality of
regulatory oversight amongst different
states through improved implementation
and compliance.

Addressing key issues in
the air cargo industry
The air cargo industry, like any
other, experiences its fair share of
issues. Following a disscussion on key
issues, the following resolutions wew
reached:
Aviation Security
AAPA calls on governments
to commit to raising the aviation
security bar through more effective implementation of existing ICAO
global standards and quality controls,
strengthening multilateral cooperation
and working more closely with
the industry.

Environment

AAPA calls on governments to
coordinate the necessary investments
to ensure improvements in operational
efficiencies and reduction in
environmental impact, and remain
committed to the necessary legislation
implementing CORSIA within the next
two years.

Infrastructure

AAPA calls on Asian governments
to commit to further investments
in efficient air traffic management,
implementation of recognised
international SOP’s and best operational
practices.

Charges and Taxes

AAPA calls on governments to
carefully consider the overall economic
effects of putting further strain on the
aviation industry, and to refrain from
increasing the burden of aviation levies
in any form, as well as unjustified or
discriminatory taxes on international
aviation.

Slots

AAPA calls on governments and
slot coordinators to optimise the
use of scarce airport capacity by
managing the allocation of slots in
an independent, transparent, fair and
non-discriminatory manner in line with
ICAO guidance.