The Director General of Hermes moderated the panel discussion entitled “Competitiveness of the MENA Air Transport Industry” of the AACO/IATA MENA Aeropolitical Forum held in Beirut on 26 March.
Dr Kostas Iatrou, Director General of Hermes, moderated the panel discussion. In his opening remarks he presented the outcome of the 2018 recommendations of Hermes on Ownership and Control: “Decision makers should consider the benefits of being proactive in creating the environment that will allow airlines access to the capital necessary to effectively compete in the industry. This may include relaxing ownership and control restrictions within a regional context…….states that are proactive in developing policies that facilitate aviation growth will produce the winning airlines in the long run”.
The Panelists that participated were:
-Carlos Acosta, Head of Aviation Agreements, DG MOVE, European Commission
-Carlos Bonilla Vilchez, Manager Aeropolitical Affairs, Qatar Airways
-Richard Gimblett, Partner, Holman Fenwick Willan MEA LLP
– Mounifa Hussein, Head of Traffic Services & Procedures, Middle East Airlines
-Eng. Mazen A. Bazhair, Hajj and Umrah Manager – General Authority for Civil Aviation – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Chairman of Air Transport Committee of ACAO
Concluding the panel, Dr Iatrou focused on the need of a smart and harmonised regulation framework and the need of partnership between the stakeholders.