Singapore – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is growing its presence in Singapore with the move to a larger office that is able to accommodate 40% more employees, including a Global Delivery Center (GDC).

"2018 marks IATA's 49th year in Singapore. From a small office in 1969, today Singapore is one of five regional offices and is our headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region. All of IATA's activities and services to its members and stakeholders are represented in this office. We currently have over 150 employees and we are adding more resources," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO during the inauguration of the new Asia-Pacific Regional Office at Mapletree Business City. The event was graced by the presence of Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan.

In 2017, the IATA Singapore office became one of four Global Delivery Center (GDC) locations where the back office functions for IATA's Financial Settlement Systems (FSS) have been consolidated. With the GDC located in Beijing, Madrid, Montreal and Singapore, IATA is better positioned to meet increasing expectations of airlines, travel agents, and freight forwarders using the FSS for 24/7 customer service. The GDC will also support the roll out of the products associated with the New Generation of IATA Settlement Systems (NewGen ISS). The Singapore GDC operations team handles customers speaking 12 languages from over 16 time zones. Twenty three new jobs have been added as a result of the GDC in Singapore. In 2017, the IATA office in Singapore processed close to US$70 billion in settlements for the Asia-Pacific region.

There is an agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to establish, in partnership, a Global Safety Predictive Analytics Research Center (SPARC) in Singapore. SPARC is a new initiative which uses predictive analytics to improve aviation safety.

"Singapore is home to over 150 employees represented by 27 nationalities. With this larger office, we are able to accommodate an increase in our headcount, an expansion of training opportunities for aviation professionals, and an improvement in our capacity to host more regional industry meetings," said Conrad Clifford, IATA's Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific. "The IATA team continues to be committed to working with our many partners in Singapore and in the region to drive a safe, secure, profitable and sustainable air transport industry." Some 1,700 aviation professionals from 25 countries participated in courses at the IATA training center in 2017.

The Asia-Pacific region is center stage of the industry's overall growth. By 2036 7.8 billion people are expected to travel (up from 4.3 billion expected in 2018). Of that, 3.5 billion trips will be to, from or within the Asia-Pacific region

Read Alexandre's full speech now.

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Notes for Editors:

  • IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 280 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic.
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