Doha Hosting Global Aviation Industry World
Financial Symposium
(20/09/22)
Doha is currently hosting the biggest
gathering of the aviation industry’s financial leaders since
before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air
Transport Summit (WATS) held in Doha last June, the IATA World Financial
Symposium (WFS) started on Monday and will continue through 22 September 2022.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s
Director General, said, “We are excited to bring the World
Financial Symposium to Doha for the first time. As the industry
continues to recover, the role of finance in rebuilding balance
sheets and supporting our sustainability agenda will take center
stage in the important discussions taking place over the next few
days.”
Numbers indicate a rapid emergence from the pandemic following the
removal of government-mandated travel restrictions over the past
two years. Industry losses are expected to fall to $9.7 billion
this year, improved from nearly $180 billion in losses over the
previous two years (2020-21).
As travel barriers fall in most
regions, a recent surge in demand suggests a recovery to
pre-COVID19 traffic levels in 2024, with a possibility of
reaching profit in 2023.
At the same time, airline debts
have soared as carriers borrowed to stay afloat during the crisis.
Finance departments across the industry will face major challenges
as the goal to fly net zero by 2050 approaches.
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief
Executive,
said, “We are honoured to be hosting the first in-person World
Financial Symposium since 2019, especially during our milestone
year, celebrating 25 years of operations. This vital symposium
will bring together financial leaders from airlines and from our
many supply chain partners to discuss and debate the path forward
and the challenges to be overcome.”
Sessions will
address:
- ESG & sustainable finance trends;
- Achieving
carbon net zero by 2050;
- Financial risk management;
- The road
to airline retailing & customer centricity;
- Fulfillment and
settlement in a world of airline offers and orders;
- The future
of airline payments and payments as a value creator;
-
Understanding and preparing for OECD BEPS 2.0; and
- WFS will also
feature a a review of the industry economic outlook and resilience
from IATA’s Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen.
The event is taking place at the Sheraton Grand
Doha (pictured).
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