(Washington) -- The winners of the sixth annual 'Eagle' awards were announced today at the 59th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Washington D.C.
September 11, the economic slowdown, the Iraq war and SARS have resulted in substantial reductions in air traffic volumes. These have caused a crisis in the revenue budgets of both airlines and many of their suppliers, including airport and air navigation service providers. IATA made a call on governments, regulators, airports and air navigation entities, seeking relief in the form of reductions in the costs that they pass onto the airlines.
A number of airports and air navigation service providers have responded to IATA's call, and have taken steps such as containing costs, freezing, reducing and even waiving charges for periods of time. The independent Eagle Award Selection Panel decided that three airports and three air navigation service providers deserved special recognition and were awarded the 2003 IATA Eagle Award:
· Airports: Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (Changi Airport), Melbourne Airport and Athens International Airport.
· ANS providers: Airways Corporation of New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority and Estonian Air Navigation Services.
The panel also identified a number of airports and air navigation providers that had made significant efforts in controlling costs and/or charges, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Dubai, Hong Kong, Sharjah, ANS of the Czech Republic, Austrocontrol, Latvia's LGS, Oro Navigacija of Lithuania, NAV CANADA and UK NATS.
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General & CEO, said: "Today's winners are good examples for others to follow. They have shown leadership in assisting the air transport industry during the worst crisis in its history. They have displayed the spirit of partnership that will be key to recovery. I salute the 2003 'Eagle' winners."