chairman Luis Gallego said at the association’s AGM in Rio de Janeiro on 7 June.
‘A subcommittee of the board has been put in charge of the selection process and is currently conducting interviews with candidates,’ he says.
The search has become necessary after the current director general, Willie Walsh, resigned from his position to become CEO of IndiGo in August.
IATA: SAF production ‘still disappoints’
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released estimates showing that global Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production is expected to reach around 2.4 million tonnes in 2026, representing just 0.8% of aviation fuel use, at a cost to airlines of $4.3 billion.
‘It looks to be another disappointing year for SAF production,’ says Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.
‘Five years after committing to achieve net zero by 2050, SAF production will only account for 0.8% of airline fuel use this year. The path to meeting 65% of our needs in 2050 is growing more difficult with each year of ineffectively sequenced government policies and oil companies’ manifest lack of interest.
‘The current energy shock should add even more urgency to the development of renewables, including SAF. But we have yet to see either the energy shock, the need to develop energy independence and jobs, or the urgency to mitigate climate change materialise in the incentives needed to create a viable SAF market.’
