Former International Airlines Group (IAG) CEO Willie Walsh has taken over as the director general of IATA.
Walsh assumed the post from his retiring predecessor Alexandre de Juniac, who had run the global airlines lobby since 2016.
He enters as IATA's leader as domestic travel in some countries, including the U.S., has begun recovering, but as international travel, and the global airline industry as a whole, remained mired in the deep Covid-19 slump.
"My goal is to ensure that IATA is a forceful voice supporting the success of global air transport," Walsh said in a prepared remark Thursday. "We will work with supporters and critics alike to deliver on our commitments to an environmentally sustainable airline industry. It's my job to make sure that governments, which rely on the economic and social benefits our industry generates, also understand the policies we need to deliver those benefits."
Walsh stepped down from atop IAG, which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, in September. He had led the airline group since its founding in 2011 and prior to that he was the CEO of British Airways.
He was selected as de Juniac's replacement in November.