IATA has moved its annual general meeting to the Qatari capital Doha this June, after original plans to hold the event in Shanghai were hit by continuing Covid-19 travel restrictions in China.
After Covid ruled out the airline association holding its 2020 AGM in Amsterdam in person, IATA was able to run last year’s AGM as an in-person event in Boston during October.
This year IATA has restored its regular June timing for the AGM and had planned to hold the event in Shanghai, with China Eastern Airlines as host airline. However, China has retained its strict ’zero-Covid’ approach, restricting international travel into the country.
IATA has now opted to move the event to Doha. The AGM wil be held on 19-21 June, marking the second time it has been held in Qatar, after the Gulf state hosted the event in 2014.
IATA director general Willie Walsh says: “It is deeply disappointing that we are not able to meet in Shanghai as planned. In the meantime, we are pleased to be returning to the dynamic aviation hub of Doha and the warm hospitality for which Qatar Airways, our host airline, has become famous.
”This year’s AGM will be an important opportunity for aviation’s leaders to reflect on the shifting political, economic and technological realities facing air travel as the industry’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic gathers pace.”
