As so many challenges and uncertainties continue to face the industry, a panel discussion was held on the evolution of aviation between several ERA member airline leaders. This included contributions from Nico Bezuidenhout, CEO, Aurigny; Jacob Nitter Sørensen, CEO, Air Greenland; Luis Rodrigues, President, SATA Group; Janne Tarvainen, Managing Director, Nordic Regional Airlines (Norra); and was chaired by Patrick Edmond, Shannon Group and ERA Board member. Conversations quickly led to sustainability and the importance of working together to drive transformation and decarbonisation.
Rodrigues, who also provided a keynote speech, said: “Collaboration has been fundamental to our transformation and turnaround, and will be even more relevant for the industry as times ahead get increasingly complex. The ERA General Assembly, bringing together regional players, provides a unique contribution to that spirit, and strengthens our collective ability to move forward and continue to serve the regions of Europe.”
As part of the Airline and Airport CEOs’ meeting, presentations were delivered by Eamonn Brennan, Director General, EUROCONTROL, who provided an economic overview of the industry; Martin Adler, Senior Researcher, Competition, Aviation and Innovation, SEO Amsterdam Economics, on the costs for the industry to decarbonise; and finally Filip Cornelis, Director Aviation and International Transport Affairs, DG MOVE, who provided an update from the European Commission, discussing the current policy issues affecting the sector.
Eamonn Brennan, Director General of EUROCONTROL said: “ERA and its member airlines are important partners for EUROCONTROL in our efforts to support efficiency and sustainability across the European aviation network as a whole. I was delighted to be able to address the ERA General Assembly to discuss the challenges we face as an industry to recover from COVID in the current difficult political and economic context and to look ahead to how we manage summer 2023.”
ERA welcomed Karina Hollekim as this year’s inspirational speaker. As a professional skier and base jumper, Hollekim was one of the world’s best extreme sports athletes until a near-fatal accident in 2006 saw her miraculously cheat death. Her incredible journey of struggle and resilience inspired all that listened to not only dream again, but to work hard and chase those dreams.
Delegates equally heard from ERA Director General Montserrat Barriga on the extensive work of the association’s team over the past 12 months, and from ERA President Jan Palmér who provided a State of the Industry address.
As part of his speech, Palmér said: “Moving forward, as we enter our winter season, it’s vital that we address the many major operational challenges we faced this summer. In addition to staff shortages, airport capacity shortages, flight delays and cancellations need to be dealt with if we are to make steady progress towards recovery. Working collectively has never been so important.”
With a packed agenda, the three days also included an extensive exhibition area, ERA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), a prestigious gala dinner, press conference sessions and unlimited networking opportunities.
Tags: ERA
