The countdown to the IATA AGM begins as global aviation leaders prepare for their meeting in Rio | News
Rio de Janeiro prepares to welcome the global aviation industry as the countdown begins to the 82nd IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit, taking place June 6-8, 2026.
The event, organized by LATAM Airlines Group, brings airline chiefs, aviation policymakers, manufacturers, airports, technology leaders, investors and media to Brazil at a defining moment for global air transport.
The decision to hold the AGM in Rio puts South America firmly at the center of the aviation conversation. IATA says the event will be held in “the largest aviation market in South America,” underscoring the role air transport can play as a driver of social and economic prosperity across the region.
For Brazil, the timing is significant. Aviation already supports 2.1 percent of the country’s GDP and 1.9 million jobs, according to IATA. The Rio Summit will examine how the sector can make an even greater contribution to national development.
The AGM will open with IATA Director General Willie Walsh, while the World Air Transport Summit will examine the prospects for airlines in 2026, led by Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s senior vice-president, sustainability and chief economist.
A central theme will be the operating environment that global airlines will face over the next twelve months. The ‘Big Picture’ session explores geopolitics, security, trade and economics, bringing together speakers such as Control Risks CEO Nick Allan, S&P Global’s Eleanor Budds, Matt Kaminski and Marie Owens Thomsen.
Rio will also provide a platform for the industry to focus directly on Brazil’s aviation potential. A special session, “Brazil’s aviation potential turned into reality,” will feature Mariana Aldrigui of the University of São Paulo, Jerome Cadier, CEO of LATAM Brasil, Jeanine Pires of Pires Inteligência em Turismo, and Fabio Rogerio de Carvalho, CEO of ABR Aeroportos do Brasil.
The host airline will play a prominent role throughout the program. Roberto Alvo, CEO of LATAM Airlines Group, is named as one of the keynote speakers, with IATA highlighting its role in LATAM’s transformation and the airline group’s position as a driver of connectivity and development across South America.
But the Rio AGM will also be about the system behind global aviation. IATA represents more than 370 airlines in 131 countries and territories, with its members accounting for approximately 85 percent of total scheduled traffic. In 2024, IATA members transported 3.3 billion scheduled passengers and 59 million tons of scheduled freight, illustrating the scale of the industry that will be represented in Rio.
That scale brings with it a series of operational, financial, environmental and technological questions that are now central to the industry’s next chapter.
Airport capacity will be one of them. IATA says 395 airports will be subject to airport coordination by 2026, including 216 fully slot-coordinated airports. About 43 percent of passengers worldwide now depart from an airport with coordinated slots, demonstrating how capacity constraints are becoming an increasingly important part of the aviation growth debate.
IATA states that the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines remain critical to managing scarce airport capacity in a neutral, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. This issue is likely to become increasingly important as demand grows faster than infrastructure expansion in many parts of the world.
Sustainability will remain one of the defining issues in Rio. IATA member airlines adopted a resolution in 2021 committing to achieving net zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050, with sustainable aviation fuel expected to provide the majority of the emissions reduction trajectory.
Brazil’s potential role in the future SAF economy will be directly addressed in the session “Closing the gap between Brazil’s SAF production potential and airline needs,” with representatives from Brazil’s Ministry of Energy, Acelen Renewables and Petrobras.
The sustainability debate will also go beyond SAF. IATA’s latest factsheets highlight the role of new aircraft technology, offsetting, carbon capture, cabin waste reduction and smarter regulation in the sector’s net-zero journey.
Aircraft efficiency has improved significantly in recent decades. IATA notes that each new generation of aircraft has reduced emissions by about 15 to 20 percent, while the overall fuel efficiency of the fleet is about 80 percent better than 50 years ago. Further gains are expected from turbofan engines, advanced aircraft design, hybrid-electric concepts, electric aircraft, hydrogen propulsion and new aerodynamic configurations.
However, IATA’s analysis also points to the complexity of the transition. Hybrid-electric aircraft may start with small and regional jets, while hydrogen faces challenges in green hydrogen production, infrastructure, storage and aircraft design. This makes the path to 2050 a combination of short-term efficiency, SAF scale-up, regulatory alignment and longer-term technological breakthroughs.
Cabin waste is another area where the industry is seeking practical progress. According to IATA, 34 percent of cabin waste is untouched food and beverages, which amounts to approximately $6 billion in resources burned or landfilled annually. The association says smarter regulation is needed to enable airlines and catering providers to reuse and recycle more materials from international flights, while still protecting animal health and passenger safety.
The same tension applies to single-use plastics. Airlines are under pressure to reduce plastic waste, but IATA says inconsistent regulations across airports, regions and countries can lead to operational complexity, higher costs and, in some cases, more waste. The challenge for the industry is to move towards more sustainable alternatives, while taking into account the strict safety, hygiene and weight requirements of aviation.
Financial infrastructure will also be quietly behind many of the Rio discussions. IATA Financial Settlement Systems processed $492.4 billion, excluding refunds, in 2025, helping airlines, travel agencies, freight forwarders and other partners move money through the global aviation value chain. The Billing and Settlement Plan alone processed $242.3 billion in 2025, net of $19.7 billion in reimbursements, in more than 180 countries and territories.
As airlines invest in transformation, distribution, new aircraft, sustainability and customer experience, the efficiency and resilience of these financial systems remain a critical part of the industry’s operational backbone.
Technology and cybersecurity will be another important theme. The World Air Transport Summit will include a session asking whether AI is delivering on its promises for airlines, exploring how airlines and technology providers are applying artificial intelligence to their operations, customer experience and decision-making.
IATA’s fact sheet on aviation cybersecurity underlines why this is important. The industry’s digital transformation now includes operations, aircraft systems, ground infrastructure, connected aircraft, electronic flight bags, cloud-based operations and data-driven decision making. The increasing use of AI and automation can improve efficiency and quality of service, but also increases the cyber risk environment that airlines and airline partners face.
IATA says it will establish several expert groups on aviation cybersecurity in 2026, focusing on sector coordination, regulatory oversight, innovation and crisis response. The issue is likely to become more important as airlines become more connected, data-driven and reliant on digital infrastructure.
The formal media program kicks off on Saturday, June 6, with regional briefings on North Asia, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East and the Americas, followed by briefings on sustainability and LATAM Airlines Group.
Sunday’s program includes the opening session of the AGM, an AGM press conference with Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive Luis Gallego and LATAM chief executive Roberto Alvo, followed by the World Air Transport Summit, the CEO panel and the IATA Diversity and Inclusion Awards.
The CEO Forum, one of the traditional highlights of the AGM, will be hosted by CNN’s Richard Quest and will feature airline leaders including Con Korfiatis of Oman Air, Güliz Öztürk of Pegasus and Luis Rodrigues of TAP Air Portugal.
For Rio, the AGM is more than an aviation conference. It is an opportunity to showcase the city’s growing role as a global destination for business, tourism, events and connectivity. With Visit Rio as a destination partner, the event will bring world aviation leadership to one of Latin America’s most recognizable cities at a time when tourism, infrastructure and international access are central to the region’s growth story.
For LATAM, the meeting provides a platform to showcase the role of a major South American aviation group in connecting the region to the world. For Brazil, it is an opportunity to put aviation at the heart of the country’s broader ambitions for tourism, trade, sustainability and economic development.
As the industry prepares to rally under the IATA banner, the agenda in Rio reflects an aviation sector defined by both opportunity and complexity. Growth returns, demand shifts, technology accelerates, financial systems evolve, cyber risks increase and sustainability shifts from ambition to execution.
For three days in June, Rio de Janeiro will become the stage on which many of these questions will be discussed. For Brazil, Latin America and South America, it is also an opportunity to demonstrate that aviation remains one of the most powerful engines of connections, trade, tourism and long-term economic development.
Justin Cooke is editor-in-chief of Breaking Travel News and will attend the IATA AGM in Rio de Janeiro.
