GENEVA – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the theme for the 2024 Wings of Change Europe (WOCE) conference will focus on furthering competitive and sustainable European aviation. WOCE will take place on 20-21 November 2024 in Rome, Italy, hosted by ITA Airways.

“Europe’s prosperity is inextricably linked to its competitiveness. Europe’s politicians are finally waking up to the erosion of competitiveness after years of over-regulation. With the next European Commission aiming to kick-start a European renaissance, Wings of Change Europe will focus on policy options to strengthen European aviation’s competitiveness. The significance of a strong aviation sector was highlighted in the recent Draghi report which noted how aviation ‘enables the prosperity of other branches of the economy.’ It is that vision which must be strategically developed with regulators and industry working side-by-side,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“ITA Airways is proud to host Wings of Change Europe, and we’re especially delighted to bring people to Rome, our home and hub of our operations. This city has echoes of an ancient world that understood the power of mobility, connectivity and transport. The modern Italy, with Rome at its heart, has reinvigorated that vision and ITA Airways is playing a leading role. We are looking forward to bringing industry and policymakers together for two days of enlightened debate, focused on driving real change for a more competitive and sustainable aviation system,” said Antonino Turicchi, Chairman of ITA Airways, who will give a welcome address to open the event.

Speakers and Sessions

Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, and CNBC’s Janina Landau, Guest Moderator, will be joined by a wide variety of key policymakers and senior industry figures, including:

A focus on government and regulatory expertise with:

• Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation, European Commission
• Hugo Espirito Santo, Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Portugal
• Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary for Digital and Transport, Germany
• Diantha Raadgers, Senior Policy Advisor, Aviation, for the Ministry of Infrastructure, The Netherlands

A chance to hear from industry leaders including:

• Luis Gallego, CEO, IAG
• Carsten Spohr, CEO Lufthansa
• Andrea Benassi, Managing Director, ITA Airways
• Arndt Schoenemann, Chairman and CEO, DFS
• Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director, Airlines for Europe

Key topics will include taxation, operations, sustainability, and digitalization. Special guest speakers, Henry Wilkinson of SIAS, Pascal Saint-Amans of Brunswick, and Thomas Reynaert of IBM will explore geopolitical, taxation, and AI trends respectively.

The event will be held at the Rome Marriot Park Hotel.