ICAO President encourages countries to echo Saudi challenging aviation targets

ICAO President encourages countries to echo Saudi challenging aviation targets

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aviation targets should be duplicated by other states, according to the President of the International Civil Aviation Organization council The Kingdom wants to see the number of travelers going from and to Saudi Arabia rise from 100 million a year to 300 million — a goal described as a “challenge” but a “great opportunity” by Salvatore Sciacchitano, during an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Aviation Forum, held in Riyadh. He added that he was “optimistic” about Saudi Arabia’s plans thanks to the “political commitment” and “evolution of the transport” in the Kingdom. “This is a national objective, it is great that other states would duplicate the same approach in their states,” he said. Speaking of aviation challenges, Sciacchitano talked about the importance of harmonization at the global level. “This is mainly a task of ICAO, in order to create environmental regulations that we do actually, in order to facilitate these kinds of exchanges. Actually, the market is still regulated by mechanisms over profit, so that they do not facilitate very much,” he said. The aviation sector also faces financing challenges, according to the ICAO President, saying: “We must acknowledge that airlines are