IATA's Corporate Governance

Board of Directors

IATA is governed by an executive committee known as the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors provides strategic leadership and oversight for IATA. It acts collectively to define the Association’s strategic direction and objectives, oversee financial performance, budgeting, and risk management, and appoint the Director General and other senior officers. The Board also approves key operational policies and governance frameworks, oversees compliance with by-laws, member resolutions, and applicable laws, and exercises additional powers as delegated by the Members.

The Board’s procedural rules are set out in By-law No. 3 (pdf).

Board Committees

The Board operates through four standing committees (pdf), composed exclusively of Board members. Each committee has defined authority and clear escalation thresholds, enabling focused oversight while reserving key decisions for the full Board.

• The Governance & Performance Committee oversees IATA’s performance and effectiveness, including IATA’s strategic planning and annual targets, as well as executive performance and appointments.
• The Industry Strategy & Policy Committee ensures that IATA’s policies, advocacy, and industry initiatives reflect the Board’s strategic direction, while remaining responsive to political and regional developments.
• The Finance, Risk & Audit Committee is responsible financial oversight, risk management, and audit responsibilities.
• The Membership Committee manages Board nominations and sensitive membership matters such as suspensions or terminations.

The Committees’ procedural rules are set out in By-law No. 4 (pdf) and their responsibilities are defined in their terms of reference (pdf).

Membership of the Board of Directors

As of 7 June 2026, the Board is composed of 31 airline CEOs (pdf) and IATA's Director General. The regional allocation of seats on the Board is defined in a Resolution of the AGM (pdf). 

Roberto Alvo, CEO of LATAM Airlines Group, serves as Chair of the Board of Directors until the close of the 83rd IATA AGM. Mehmet Tevfik Nane, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Pegasus Airlines, serves as Vice-Chair. See press release.

Industry Committees

The Board has established nine industry Committees to provide governance recommendations and informing strategic discussions at Board and Steering Group level. They bring the membership's expertise and perspective to bear on industry-level policy, strategy, and governance questions. They succeed the Advisory Councils, which will be dissolved on 30 June 2026.

Each Industry Committee is composed of experts from member airlines, appointed by the Board's membership Committee. Industry Committee members act as representatives of the membership.

The activities of Industry Committees are governed by By-Law No. 5 (pdf) and their Terms of Reference (pdf). 

Nominations for the newly established Industry Committees will be sought from member airlines in June 2026.

IATA’s nine Industry Committees

Steering Groups

Steering Groups form the coordination layer between Industry Committees, Traffic Conferences, and the Board, ensuring that Membership input is aligned and coherent before it reaches Board level. Steering Groups do not approve policy, substitute for Industry Committees or Traffic Conference deliberations, or create new authority. 

The Chairs of the relevant Industry Committees and Traffic Conferences serve on the Steering Groups. The Board may appoint additional members where the objectives of a Steering Group require it.

The activities of Steering Groups are governed by By-Law No. 6 (pdf) and their Terms of Reference (pdf). 

IATA’s Steering Groups

• Policy and Strategy Steering Group
• Programs and Innovation Steering Group
• Standards Steering Group

Traffic Conferences

IATA’s Traffic Conferences develop and maintain standards for cargo industry procedures, cargo distribution services and passenger processes (such as distribution, airport and financial) together with more general standards such as coding and scheduling. The Traffic Conferences are also responsible for matters (excluding remuneration) relating to the relationship between airlines and IATA accredited passenger and cargo agents and other intermediaries. Resolutions adopted act as an agreement between all IATA member airlines and are binding on them.

The Traffic Conferences meet in general annually and are organized in committees or management groups. They may establish boards or panels to oversee provisions in specific domains. Each active IATA member airline with scheduled commercial international air services gets a vote. Their activities are governed by the Provisions for the Conduct of the IATA Traffic Conferences (pdf).

IATA’s Traffic Conferences

At the 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Members of IATA completed the second phase of the Association's comprehensive governance review, building on the new by-laws (pdf) adopted in 2025 to keep the Association modern, effective, and member-driven.

Guided by internationally recognized governance principles—accountability, democratic governance, transparency, member representation, and independence—the review has been delivered in successive phases.

Phase 1, adopted at the 2025 AGM, addressed the foundations of the Association, including the AGM and the Board, with clearer responsibilities, streamlined committees, and a stronger focus on oversight and performance.

Phase 2, adopted at the 2026 AGM, addresses IATA's advisory structure—the bodies through which member airlines contribute to industry policy, strategy, and programs. It replaces the Advisory Councils with Industry Committees, supported by Steering Groups and a set of operational groups, each with a clearly defined role. The Members adopted the by-laws giving effect to this structure, with the detailed Terms of Reference adopted by the Board of Directors.

A review of IATA's Traffic Conferences will follow as Phase 3.

For more on the new advisory structure and what it means for members, see the Phase 2 FAQ (pdf).