Air transport is critical to the world’s recovery from COVID-19

On 25 January 2020, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which it has been my privilege to have led over the past four and a half years, issued our first news release about a “coronavirus outbreak” in Wuhan. In a brief statement we noted that we were closely monitoring developments and pointed out that the industry, working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), had well-developed standards and best practices for dealing with such events.

I certainly did not expect that 14 months later, we would still be issuing press statements on the subject, nor that it would erupt into a global tragedy that has taken some 2.7 million lives, left millions more grieving the loss of family and friends, and dealt a devastating blow to many national economies.