The 54th AGM of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organisation (AACO) opened in Doha, patronised and attended by Minister of Transport H E Jassim Seif Ahmed Al Sulaiti.
The opening ceremony of the two-day meeting was attended Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani, Minister of Communications and Information Technology H Mohamed bin Ali bin Mohamed al-Mannai, Director-General of the Arab Civil Aviation Organisation (ACAO) Abdennabi Manar, Director-General of Mobility and Transport at the European Commission Henrik Hololei, and Director-General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) William Walsh.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive and Chairman of the 54th AGM Akbar Al Baker opened the AGM.
The event is also attended by more than 200 senior aviation decision-makers, including CEOs of IATA member airlines, partner airliners, IATA partners in the aviation industry such as aircraft and engine manufacturers, global distribution system and IT organisations and several other companies concerned with Arab and universal aviation industry.
Exceptional timing
Al Sulaiti said: “This event comes in an exceptional timing through which we in Qatar have succeeded to maintain civil aviation operations via the national carrier Qatar Airways, in addition to maintaining business continuity at Hamad International Airport in spite of the repercussions of the pandemic, to actively reinforce the contribution to leading the recovery of Arab and world travel sector and ensure the stability of supply chains around the world.”
Al Baker said: “The convening of the 54th AACO AGM embodies the intention of the aviation sector in our region to restore air connection and travel services back to normal and we are fully mindful of the important role upon us to revive and revitalise the aviation industry, given its impacts on communities.”
He said the AGM will discuss a roadmap and key topics relating to air transport recovery and developing the aviation industry sustainably, particularly with relation to reducing carbon emissions. “Despite the challenges facing the aviation industry, we must continue our efforts firmly towards achieving lower carbon emissions, which is a shared responsibility upon the aviation industry.”
Source: Civil Aviation Authority – Qatar