For IATA, it is essential that airport planning and development is done in a coordinated way in order to achieve safe and efficient, capacity balanced, cost-effective, functional and user-friendly airports.
Working closely with airport authorities, IATA seeks to ensure that their airport development programmes provide modular, expandable and flexible facilities that can meet airline requirements in a cost-effective manner.
A particular emphasis is given to the adoption of airport master plans. A master plan ensures that the management of airside, landside and airport support facilities is done in a coherent way, respecting other providers.
Industry working groups
IATA works closely with a number of bodies involved in the optimization of airport development worldwide:
- Airport Consultative Committees (ACC)
These are local committees reuniting airport authorities and airline groups, airport planning experts, Board of Airline Representatives (BAR), local Airline Operators Committee (AOC) and IATA. ACCs serve as a focal point for consultation between airlines and airport authorities on airport expansion or the development of new airports. Currently, there are active ACCs at twenty-six airports worldwide.
- Regional Airport Steering Groups (RASGs)
RASGs are multi-discipline airline groups formed of airline staff, airport facilities planning, user charges, operations and scheduling experts for one particular region. These groups review airport development activity in the region and develop a work plan for Airport Consultative Committee (ACC) interventions. So far, Steering Groups have already been established for Europe and Asia/Pacific.
- And two groups coordinated by IATA: