Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H.E. Akbar Al Baker, has welcomed the publication of the Doha Declaration, a manifesto that calls for a serious review of the existing aviation regulatory framework.
The Declaration, which was announced at the conclusion of the CAPA Qatar Aviation, Aeropolitical and Regulatory Summit held in Doha, comes 75 years after the historic Chicago Convention, which established the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as well as a set of global rules for airspace, air safety and air travel.
Commenting on the Declaration, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive said, “Qatar Airways wholeheartedly endorses the Doha Declaration and calls on airlines all over the world to join us in supporting it”.
The full text of the Doha Declaration states that, 75 years after the aviation regulatory framework was established, and it is time for a serious global review of its relevance today; the “business of freedom” underpins 10% of global GDP. It is too important to be constrained by economic regulation that was designed to meet entirely different conditions.
In the recommendation, governments should relax restrictive airline ownership and control rules, which underpin the bilateral air services system, constraining rationalisation of market access, increase efforts to encourage plurilateral liberalisation, for example as promoted by the European Union, enhance sustainability – in its broadest meaning – in the aviation sector, and actively encourage aeropolitical discussion and further engagement at the highest levels.
The Declaration follows the recent announcement that The State of Qatar and the European Union have concluded their negotiations for a landmark Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement. Speaking at the conclusion of the CAPA Conference, the first of its kind to be held in the Middle East, Henrik Hololei, the Director General Mobility and Transport at the European Commission commented on the Doha Declaration, saying: “It is a good conclusion of the one-and-a-half days we have spent here.”
