ACI LAC, ALTA, CANSO and IATA, representing aviation across Latin America and the Caribbean, have renewed their call on governments and authorities to work in a coordinated and assertive manner to sustain the viability of the aviation industry.
In a joint statement, the organizations stressed that although the air transport system is enabling the urgent transportation of medicines, vaccines and life-critical personnel, and the safe repatriation of citizens, the rest of the sector has ground to a halt. As a result, it said, the industry is now increasingly facing a liquidity crisis.
While the organizations acknowledged the work already done by governments, they called for further temporary measures to be implemented, among them: the inclusion of the aviation sector in any national scheme or special aid package; the facilitation of debt renegotiation; and flexibility with respect to slot rules and other non-safety related provisions, to help the sector become operational more rapidly once the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.
The organizations also called for help in guaranteeing continuity of service provided by airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, and associate services that will jointly support the return of commercial air traffic by ensuring the economic and financial sustainability of the aviation industry. Furthermore, they requested temporary relief in the requirement to develop infrastructure and a relaxation of the quality of service obligations during the ongoing crisis.
Finally, ACI LAC, ALTA, CANSO and IATA requested that any relief measures should be considered on a non-discriminatory basis, with no sector benefitting at the expense of another, and called for increased industry-government collaboration.
