Airlines in the Latin America and Caribbean region are making money, but governments need to do more to support the industry, according to the director general of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac.
Speaking via a video message to delegates at the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in Buenos Aires today, de Juniac said carriers in the region will this year achieve “$3 per passenger in profit – that’s about half the global average of $7.69”.
Too often, de Juniac states, “government politics and actions come between [ALTA member airlines’] efforts to run strong business and sustainable levels of profitability”.
He cites recent developments that have seen governments increase costs for airlines through taxes, fuel fees and “poorly regulated monopoly infrastructure costs”.
“Failure to address infrastructure constraints at airports and ANSPs [air navigation service providers] can have an equally dampening impact,” he adds.
IATA is forecasting that airlines in the ALTA region will achieve a collection profit of $800 million this year. De Juniac calls this “good news” but says “there is still work to be done to close the gap”.
“So our message to governments is that reducing costs, building smarter regulation and expanding infrastructure capacity will increase connectivity and spread prosperity by growing the economy and creating jobs,” he concludes.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
