The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that China Eastern Airlines will host the 78th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Shanghai on 19-21 June 2022.
This will be the third time China will host the global gathering of aviation’s top leaders. The AGM was previously held in Beijing in 2012 and in Shanghai in 2002.
The head of the aviation industry’s main lobbying group has “nudged” China towards reopening its borders, noting the strategic importance of the country’s huge air-travel market to airlines the world over struggling to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Those hopes were underscored by the global industry group’s selection of Shanghai as host city for its June 2022 gathering of industry executives – two decades after it became the first Chinese city to host the annual conference.
Willie Walsh, director general and CEO of the 290-member airline International Air Transport Association (IATA), said he hoped the group’s decision to accept the invite from China Eastern Airlines would gently “nudge” the country into reopening its borders.
“This is a demonstration of how China is a central part of the global aviation system,” Walsh said of the venue selection.
The Chinese mainland remains virtually closed off to non-residents, likewise Hong Kong and Macau.
