Webinar: The Coronavirus and the Future of Air Travel

A webinar titled The Future of Air Travel will take place on June 23, 2020, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Panelists will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the airline industry and if it is possible to view this as an opportunity for reinventing air travel.
Could the pandemic present an opportunity to think innovatively to address the immediate crisis facing the industry and
accelerate the switch to newer and greener technology? Following the outbreak of the coronavirus, airlines have been forced to
cut jobs in the face of a steep decline in passenger demand and
companies have had to halt the production and delivery of orders.

Prior to the crisis the industry was forecasting continued growth in global air traffic and looking to innovate air travel to simultaneously meet the demand for travel while reducing carbon emissions.

The webinar will investigate five key questions related to the coronavirus and air travel. This questions run the gamut from containment and prevention to green technology and support for carbon neutral air travel.

The five questions are as follows:

How have border policies put in place to contain the pandemic impacted air travel and the wider industry?
What can companies do to address the concerns of passengers underpinning the declining demand?
Does the crisis present an opportunity to look at longer-term plans and investment strategies in green technology?
What are some options being considered and which are the most viable?
And what are the respective roles of organizations, governments and the international community in moving towards carbon-neutral air travel?

Participants

Jean-Brice Dumon, Executive Vice President, Engineering, Airbus
Michael Gill, Director, Aviation Environment, International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council
John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Heathrow Airport
Chair: Ana Yang, Acting Executive Director, Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy, Chatham House

This event is part of a fortnightly series of ‘Business in Focus’ webinars reflecting on the impact of COVID-19 on areas of particular professional interest for our corporate members and giving circles. To find out more about being a corporate member click here.