At the IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) Yesterday, the organization’s Board of Governors elected SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson as Chairman starting in 2022. Mr. Gustafson will take over for incoming Chairman Robin Hayes, CEO of JetBlue Airways.
On Wednesday (November 25, 2020), SAS announced that their CEO Rickard Gustafson has been elected Chairman of IATA’s Board of Governors (BoG) from 2022. The election took place at IATA’s AGM which was held on Tuesday. Mr. Gustafson will succeed JetBlue Airways’ CEO, Robin Hayes who is replacing IATA’s current outgoing BoG Chairman, Carsten Spohr, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Lufthansa Group. This milestone occasion is the first time a CEO from SAS has been elected IATA Chairman. In Wednesday’s announcement, SAS CEO, Rickard Gustafson said,
“It is an honorable and important assignment in the most difficult time of aviation's history. I look forward to continuing driving IATA's recovery efforts and to take flight through the covid-19 pandemic through joint efforts. At the same time, I will work to accelerate the transformation towards more sustainable travel. Achieving climate neutral operations is an existential issue that the industry globally works towards.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) represents 290 airlines worldwide, which make up around 82 percent of total air traffic. Mr. Gustafson will be pre-chairman in 2021, while Robin Hayes will be current chairman and Carsten Spohr will be post-chairman. Rickard Gustafson will succeed JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes as IATA Chairman in 2022.
Source: SAS