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The joint IATA World Financial Symposium and IATA World Passenger Symposium event is where airline retailing, finance and passenger experience unite to create a dynamic platform for strategic exploration, actionable insights, and transformative innovation. The 2024 edition brought 1,241 delegates to Bangkok (BKK), Thailand.
The 2025 edition of WFSWPS will take place in Istanbul, Türkiye on 03-07 November.
About the World Financial Symposium
The World Financial Symposium (WFS) offers plenary sessions and specialized streams on the airlines financial sustainability.
Who attends?
- A diverse set of delegates including airline representatives, services and solutions providers, delegates from finance, retailing and the banking sector, consultancy firms, start-ups, fin-techs, etc.
- Over 75 individual airlines.
- Over 200 IATA Strategic Partners
- Over 40 sponsors and exhibitors
See the WFS/WPS 2024 Highlights Video
About the World Passenger Symposium
The World Passenger Symposium (WPS) combines the former Digital and Data and Retailing Symposium, the Global Airport and Passenger Symposium and the Accessibility Symposium into a single event to reflect the importance and connectedness of all three elements to the customer experience.
Testimonials from past attendees of WFS & WPS:
"I consistently seek out attending Industry Meetings and WFS/WPS to stay informed about industry developments, emerging trends, and new insights, as well as to engage in networking opportunities. The recent WFS/WPS in Bangkok fully met my expectations. I eagerly anticipate participating in similar events in the future."
Mahesh Vengurlekar, Vice President-Software Development-Customer Delivery, Accelya
"IATA’s WFS/WPS conference offers an invaluable experience, bringing together the latest insights in digital transformation, customer-centric retailing, and sustainability within the airline industry. The sessions are rich with actionable strategies and future-focused discussions, helping airline professionals stay ahead in an evolving landscape. This event is a must-attend for those looking to drive impactful change in aviation."
Ian Kaumas, Senior Manager-Commercial Airline Systems&Digital Transformation, Air Niugini
"Attending the WFS/WPS conference was a truly inspiring experience. The event seamlessly combined high-level insights with a welcoming, vibrant atmosphere, making it both engaging and enriching. The presenters, from IATA and beyond, brought expertise and fresh perspectives that resonated deeply with all attendees. Every session flowed effortlessly, staying on schedule while still allowing time for meaningful discussions and connections. This conference set a remarkable standard in both content and organization, making it a must-attend for anyone in the industry.”
Mario Almeida, Board Member, Newtour Group-Portugal
"An event that every stakeholder in aviation should attend and yield the benefits. Brainstorming sessions, debates, and seminars, besides the networking opportunities, are a must for the people in aviation."
Remo Zenegaglia, Payment Solutions and IATA&BSP Coordinator, Lufthansa Group
Showcase your products and services to industry leaders, governments, international organizations, and subject matter experts. For information on sponsorship and exhibition opportunities at the World Financial and World Passenger Symposiums, please complete the form, and a member of our team will be in touch.
Istanbul
Türkiye’s vibrant city, Istanbul, effortlessly blends centuries of rich history with modern dynamism. Known as the city where East meets West, Istanbul offers a captivating backdrop for the 2025 symposium’s discussions and networking. Participants can immerse themselves in the city’s timeless charm—exploring its iconic landmarks such as the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar, cruising along the breathtaking Bosphorus, or savoring the renowned Turkish cuisine that reflects its diverse heritage.
> Weather in Istanbul
> More information about Istanbul
Visa requirements
The IATA TravelCentre provides passport, visa, health advice, and much more. Visit the IATA Travel Centre-Passport, Visa & Health Requirements.
World Financial Symposium (WFS) & World Passenger Symposium (WPS) 2024
The joint IATA World Financial Symposium and IATA World Passenger Symposium event is where airline retailing, finance and passenger experience unite to create a dynamic platform for strategic exploration, actionable insights, and transformative innovation. The last edition of WFS & WPS was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 30 October to 31 October 2024.
- View sponsors
World Financial Symposium (WFS) & World Passenger Symposium (WPS) 2023
The joint IATA World Finance Symposium (WFS) and IATA World Passenger Symposium (WPS) is where airline retailing, finance and passenger experience unite to create a dynamic platform for strategic exploration, actionable insights, and transformative innovation. A successful WFS & WPS brought some 600 delegates to Chicago from 25 October to 26 October 2023.
World Financial Symposium (WFS) 2022
The World Financial Symposium took place in Doha, Qatar from 19 to 21 September 2022. The theme was "reshaping airline resilience," following the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. The goal: "Fly Net Zero - to achieve net zero carbon by 2050," by gaining agility in this less favorable landscape through retail and financial digital transformation.
- View photos
- View recorded sessions
World Financial Symposium (WFS) 2021
This special virtual edition of WFS took place on 19 - 20 October 2021. WFS 2021 offered several tracks that tackled various financial and related topics, with the objective of finding solutions to overcome challenges and seize opportunities to build airline finance for the future.
- View recorded sessions
World Financial Symposium (WFS) 2019
"Shaping a Sustainable Future Together" was the theme for WFS 2019.
- View photos
- View recorded sessions
World Passenger Symposium (WPS) 2022
The IATA World Passenger Symposium (WPS) took place in Manama, Bahrain on 01 – 03 November 2022 at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain, kindly hosted by Gulf Air. Under the theme “Unlocking Value Creation by Putting the Customer First,” the WPS 2022 looked at how the industry can deliver the best experience to its customers.
- View photos
- View presentations
Digital, Data and Retailing Symposium (DDR) 2021
In 2021, the Airline Industry Retailing Symposium (AIRS) and the Aviation Data Symposium (ADS) were held at the same time and place under a brand-new name: Digital, Data and Retailing Symposium (DDR). The focus was on the industry restart plan and how Airlines can further reduce costs and plan for new revenue generation using the power of Data and Retailing.
DDR Symposium 2021 covered key industry topics and allowed 650+ industry players to engage in a hybrid format to drive the industry recovery. Over 450 industry leaders and experts were in Madrid meeting face to face, while over 150 following the event remotely.
- View photos
- View recorded sessions
IATA Global Accessibility Symposium (IGAS) 2020
The 2nd edition of the IATA Global Accessibility Symposium took place on 27-28 October 2020. The 2020 edition informed industry stakeholders, passengers and state regulators about the efforts driven by the aviation industry in 2020.
Such efforts included: Recommendations for accessible air travel in response to COVID-19, innovative trends in the technology area, an overview of existing and upcoming policy and regulation, practical considerations on accessibility hot topics, and the future of accessibility and innovation - connecting the dots.
- View recorded sessions
IATA Global Airport & Passenger Symposium (GAPS) 2019
IATA Global Airport & Passenger Symposium (GAPS) examines the processes that touch the passenger journey, on the ground and in the air, and impact related airport processes and operations, allowing delegates to collectively shape future solutions through panel discussions, and innovation sessions, and partake in the development of the future passenger journey storyline.
The 2019 edition took place on 15-17 October in Warsaw, Poland, and addressed the impact of existing processes in the passenger journey and explore how future needs, trends, and solutions will shape the way of travel. Sub-themes included: "the seamless journey," "the transforming airport," and "the world of interactive data."
- View photos
- View "The Seamless Journey" presentations (pdf)
Our Diversity & Inclusion Pledge
IATA believes that diversity of culture, gender, age, orientation and experience boosts the success of the aviation industry. We actively encourage aviation professionals with diverse profiles to contribute to our events as speakers, panelists, facilitators, or in any other way.