Doha, Qatar – 3 November 2026
The 59th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) held its working sessions today in Doha, Qatar, by kind invitation of Mr. Hamad Al-Khater, Group Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, who chaired the AGM.
The event brought together chief executives and senior representatives of Arab airlines, partner airlines and industry partners, alongside representatives of regional and international organizations.
The opening ceremony on 2 November featured speeches by the AGM Chairman and AACO’s Secretary General.
The working sessions featured a State of the Industry report by Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, AACO Secretary General; an address by Eng. Khalid Cherkaoui, Director General of the Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO); and a presentation on the future economic and aviation outlook by Mr. George Ferguson, Global Head of Aerospace, Defense and Airline Research at Bloomberg Intelligence. The Arab Aviation Summit featured a CEOs’ Panel on strategic industry issues.
AACO Resolution on Aviation and the Environment
The AGM adopted the AACO Resolution on Aviation and the Environment, reaffirming the importance of reducing international aviation emissions through effective and globally coordinated measures, while avoiding duplicate obligations for the same emissions.
The resolution opposed the European Commission’s proposed extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), from 2029, to flights departing the European Economic Area (EEA) and landing in third countries within 5,000 kilometres of Frankfurt Airport. It reiterated AACO’s view that the proposed expansion is unilateral, extraterritorial and arbitrary, and inconsistent with State sovereignty under Article 1 of the Chicago Convention.
The resolution also addressed the risk of double payment when airlines bear costs for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) under ReFuelEU Aviation and the UK SAF Mandate, while the resulting emissions reductions are not recognized under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
Its principal provisions included:
• Reaffirming CORSIA as the globally agreed market-based measure for international aviation and calling for international aviation emissions to be addressed through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) without overlapping unilateral measures.
• Calling upon ICAO to address CORSIA’s fundamental principle of avoiding the double counting of emissions and emissions reductions, and to endeavor to provide the measures needed to to avoid that double counting.
• Calling upon Arab Civil Aviation Authorities to address, through ICAO, the contradiction between the fundamental principle of CORSIA for accounting carbon emissions once and, as a result of different standards, airlines having to offset under CORSIA emissions that were already reduced through regulations that are imposed by national or regional authorities to ultimately work on a solution that prevents double offsetting for the same emissions..
• Mandating AACO’s Secretariat to communicate AACO’s position to relevant European, regional and international institutions, and to pursue the recognition of verified emissions reductions and the avoidance of overlapping obligations through national CORSIA legislation.
Click here to view the full text of the AACO 59th AGM Resolution on Aviation and the Environment.
AACO Resolution on Condemnation of Attacks on Civil Aviation
The AGM adopted a resolution unequivocally condemning all attacks against civilian airports, aircraft, crews, passengers and aviation workers, and civil aviation infrastructure throughout the Arab region, regardless of their perpetrators, motives or the pretexts used to justify them.
The resolution affirmed that civilian airports are not battlefields and civilian aircraft are not military targets, and that passengers and aviation workers must be protected from the consequences of armed conflicts. It stressed that civil aviation must not be used as a means of pressure, intimidation or pursuit of military or political objectives.
The AGM expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wished the injured a speedy recovery and affirmed AACO’s full solidarity with all affected countries and airlines. It emphasized that protecting civil aviation is a collective responsibility that must be upheld without selectivity or double standards and called upon States and all parties concerned to fulfil their obligations under the relevant international conventions and applicable international law.
Click here to view the full text of the AACO 59th AGM Resolution on Condemnation of Attacks on Civil Aviation.
State of the Industry Report
In his State of the Industry report, Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha highlighted the impact of regional conflict, rising energy costs and operational disruptions on air transport in 2026, following a strong performance in 2025. He expressed confidence in Arab air transport’s ability to overcome the current crisis and return to growth, noting that its share of global passenger traffic had risen from around 2% in 1980 to around 10% in 2025.
Global passenger demand growth is expected to slow down to 2.1% in 2026, and seat capacity to 1.6%, achieving a passenger load factor of 83.9%. As for Arab airlines, passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) and seat capacity measured in ASKs, are expected to decline by 10.3% and 4.7% respectively, leading the passenger load factor to drop to 77%, with an estimated operating margin of -2.7%, compared with 11.8% in 2025.
Mr. Teffaha reaffirmed the industry’s commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and emphasized that governments, airlines, manufacturers and energy providers each have a role in achieving that objective. He called for recognition of verified environmental action across mandatory systems and greater compatibility between sustainability standards.
He also highlighted continuing delays in aircraft, engine and spare parts deliveries, which constrain fleet renewal and increase operating costs. The Annual Report places the global aircraft order backlog at 17,250 aircraft in 2025, increasing to an excess of 18,000 aircraft by the end of 2026. Mr. Teffaha outlined the Executive Committee’s direction to establish a working group to study joint spare parts inventory management, with the possibility of extending cooperation to procurement.
On digital transformation, Mr. Teffaha described AACO’s cooperation with Amadeus and SITA on a solution to identify environmental obligations and costs for each travel itinerary and make those costs transparent to passengers. He also highlighted work on digital identity across airlines’ international networks and the assessment of artificial intelligence applications in sales, distribution, Offer and Order management, and passenger interactions.
Click here for the full speech by AACO Secretary General.
To watch the Secretary General’s State of the Industry, click here.
ACAO Address and Bloomberg Presentation
Eng. Khalid Cherkaoui, Director General of the Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO), delivered an address on the common issues between AACO and ACAO. Click here for the full speech by ACAO Director General.
Mr. George Ferguson, Global Head of Aerospace, Defense and Airline Research at Bloomberg Intelligence, delivered a presentation on the future economic and aviation-related outlook.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between AACO and SITA on WorldTracer® Bag Mate
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today by the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) and SITA. The agreement makes WorldTracer® Bag Mate, SITA’s new approach to mishandled bags, available to AACO’s member airlines. Its AI handles routine baggage requests and hands complex cases over to human specialists, so passengers get their bags back sooner. The MoU marks the fourth year running that the partners have launched a joint initiative.
The framework is now open to AACO member airlines, on preferential terms for those that join. The goal is fewer mishandled bags, faster reunions and happier travelers across the Arab region.
Closed Session for AACO Members
During the closed session for member airlines, Mr. Abdelhamid Addou, Chairman of AACO’s Executive Committee, presented the Committee’s report to the AGM, which agreed on strategic and administrative issues including adopting the two strategic resolutions about Aviation and the Environment and Condemnation of Attacks on Civil Aviation.
CEO’s Panel
The Arab Aviation Summit’s CEOs’ Panel, moderated by Mr. Richard Quest, Anchor and Correspondent at CNN, brought together:
• Mr. Abdelhamid Addou, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Air Maroc.
• Eng. Samer Majali, Vice Chairman of the Board / CEO (Designated), Royal Jordanian.
• Mr. Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Air.
• Eng. Hamood Al Alawi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Oman Air.
• Mr. George Ferguson, Global Head of Aerospace, Defense and Airline Research, Bloomberg Intelligence.
The panel addressed the strategic challenges facing the aviation industry.
Click here to watch the full panel discussion.
Annual Report and Air Transport Statistics
AACO’s Annual Report and Arab Air Transport Statistics 2026 were made available electronically to delegates through the AGM mobile application. The Annual Report covered industry performance and AACO’s work on environmental sustainability, aeropolitical affairs, digital transformation and cooperation among members.
Highlights from the Annual Report included:
• AACO members’ passenger traffic (RPKs) grew by 7.6% in 2025, while seat capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 5.8%.
• AACO members’ air cargo traffic, measured in cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs), grew by 4.0% in 2025.
• AACO members recorded approximately USD 11.0 billion in net profit in 2025, with a net margin of 10.8%.
• AACO members had 1,587 aircraft in service as at 31 July 2025. They received 121 aircraft during 2025, while their combined aircraft order backlog reached 1,734 aircraft.
• Passenger traffic at Arab airports increased by 8.1% in 2025, exceeding 500 million passengers.
• The 2026 outlook remained difficult, with AACO members projected to record a net loss of approximately USD 4.3 billion and a 5.2% decline in air cargo traffic. Performance is expected to vary according to hub location and exposure to conflict-affected markets.
The report covered AACO’s collaborative work in fuel, maintenance and emergency response planning. Its Regional Training Center delivered 134 courses to 1,350 participants in 2025 and 42 courses to 430 participants during the first half of 2026.
To download the AACO Annual Report, click here.
To request the Arab Air Transport Statistics Bulletin, please email agm@aaco.org.
Closing of the AGM
At the conclusion of the working sessions, AACO members extended their gratitude to Mr. Hamad Al-Khater and Qatar Airways for their hospitality and organization of the 59th AGM.
Venue of Forthcoming AGM
The AGM announced that AACO’s 60th Annual General Meeting will be held in Egypt in 2027, by kind invitation of Capt. Ahmed Adel, Chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company.
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