IATA’s annual event brings wave of optimism, glimmer of normality

Airline leaders left IATA’s World Air Transport Summit this week in a buoyant mood, sensing the industry’s worst days are behind it, and that normalcy is months, not years, away. They also left having made firm commitments to reduce carbon output, saying the industry is emerging from the pandemic-driven aviation downturn with invigorated dedication to environmental stewardship. Exactly how airlines will significantly cut carbon, however, remains unclear.