GENEVA — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO will step down from his role at the Association effective March 31, 2021.

De Juniac made known his intention to step down from the association several months ago, which enabled a search process to facilitate a smooth leadership transition.

The IATA Board of Governors recommended to the 76th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) the appointment of Willie Walsh, former CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG) to become IATA’s eighth Director General from April 1, 2021.

“I did not come to this decision lightly. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the global air transport industry — what I call the business of freedom — as the head of IATA. Over the last years IATA has strategically increased its relevance as the voice of the global airline industry.

“This has been evident in the COVID-19 crisis. IATA has set the course to restore air connectivity amid the pandemic with systematic pre-departure testing. We are well into preparations to fulfill critical vaccine distribution needs.

“In parallel, we have restructured IATA to survive the crisis and be ready to support the industry recovery with an organization dimensioned to serve a smaller industry.

“And we have a motivated team that is determined to get the job done. The building blocks for an industry recovery are in place. And now is the right time to hand over IATA’s leadership for the long process of recovery,” said de Juniac.

De Juniac joined IATA in September 2016 from Air France-KLM where he was Chairman and CEO.

“Alexandre has led our industry in extraordinary times. Under his leadership IATA has become a stronger and an even more relevant organization. I am joined by all the members of the Board of Governors in thanking him for his service and wishing him well in his next endeavors.

“I am also pleased that we are able to present a very capable candidate to the 76th IATA AGM to succeed Alexandre in this important role. I am convinced that Willie will be a great Director General for IATA,” said Carsten Spohr, chair of the IATA Board of Governors and CEO of Lufthansa.

JetBlue to host next AGM in Boston

The IATA announced that JetBlue Airways will host the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 27-29 2021. This will be the sixth time the preeminent global gathering of aviation’s leaders has taken place in the United States and the first time it comes to Boston.

“Boston is an exciting choice for the 77th IATA AGM. With its rich history, attractive setting and prestigious universities, it is a popular global tourism destination. As the world reopens, Boston will be a bellwether city to observe the shape of the recovery,” said de Juniac.

“JetBlue and our crewmembers look forward to welcoming the leaders of the world aviation community to Boston, one of our key focus cities,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer of JetBlue Airways and incoming chairman of the IATA Board of Governors.

The decision to host the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston was made at the conclusion of the 76th AGM, which was held virtually with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as the host airline. — SG