Abdul Wahab Teffaha has led the Arab Air Carriers Organization since 1996, shaping its role in aviation policy. We spoke with him ahead of the Airline and Airport CEOs’ Meeting in Copenhagen to discuss market trends, regulatory challenges, and sustainability in Arab aviation.
After completing postgraduate studies in socio-economic development and political sociology, Abdul Wahab Teffaha joined the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) in 1980 as an Assistant Tariff Analyst, and rose through the ranks until 1992, when he was appointed Assistant Secretary General. In June 1996, he was elected Secretary General of the Association, a position he still holds to date. AACO is now recognised as one of the leading associations both at the regional and global levels. It plays an important role in industry policymaking across a broad spectrum of strategic issues, such as climate change, digital transformation, aeropolitical strategies and contributing to making the voice of the Arab airlines heard regionally and globally. AACO, under Teffaha’s leadership, has been transformed into an added-value instrument to its members through its focus on the synergies that such an association can create between them.
How would you describe the current state of the Arab aviation market, and what key trends are shaping its future?
The Arab aviation market has performed well in the wake of the COVID-19 downturn. AACO members and Arab airports almost regained 2019 levels by the end of 2023. In 2024, the airlines finished the year 6.5 per cent higher than 2019 in RPKs (revenue passenger kilometres), while the industry’s recovery was only 0.5 per cent higher than the pre-COVID year. As for the Arab airports, their 2024 numbers are 20.5 per cent higher than 2019, while the average for the airports worldwide was 5.4 per cent. That is happening in spite of the severe geopolitical tensions that exist in the region. However, the impact of those tensions is limited to the countries either involved or adjacent to those countries.
I believe the future of Arab air transport market is quite promising. This market has attributes which are almost unique. The geographical location in between east and west, south and north, provides airlines with the opportunity of having a global footprint. The continuous development of the infrastructure in the region enables airlines to expand without being restrained by infrastructure capacity. The attributes include attractions that range in nature from historical to leisure, religious and cultural, which add to the allure of this region. The last attribute is the well-entrenched culture of hospitality that is mirrored by the airlines of the region in their quality of service and attention to details. This combination of attributes provides the region’s air transport with excellent growth opportunities in the future to come.
“The Arab region, especially the oil-producing countries, are advancing plans to produce low-carbon aviation fuel, which helps reduce emissions against Jet A1 by around 15 per cent.”
What are the biggest regulatory challenges facing Arab airlines today, and how is AACO advocating for its members on the international stage?
The biggest regulatory challenge facing Arab airlines to date – and indeed facing airlines all over the world – is how regulators look at aviation as a complacent target for all sorts of taxation. In spite of the crucial economic value of air transport, we find regulators around the world very active in throwing at aviation tax burdens
that we seldom see in other economic activities. AACO is active and vocal when it comes to explaining to regulators in the region the short-term impact of having additional revenues being funneled to governments’ coffers, against the long-term adverse impact on the economic contribution of air transport as a lever for travel and tourism, and as an important job creator. Fortunately, governments of the region understand very well the value air transport brings, unlike governments in many other locations around the world. The way we advocate is to present clear economic forecasting to regulators clarifying that short-term gain against a long-term loss.
How does AACO foster collaboration among member airlines to strengthen regional aviation as a whole?
AACO works in four different disciplines:
• Identifying common grounds for members to co-operate in developing solutions with technology partners to respond to the needs of customers and airlines. This discipline encompasses our collective work on digital transformation, sustainability management solution, infrastructure development of airlines’ systems, training, ground handling, MRO, as well as other fields.
• In being a provider of analytics that look at developments around the world and analyse their current and future impact on our markets.
• Awareness and knowledge building is important pillar in our work. Airlines are under pressure to use all of their resources to manage their own operations. AACO plays the role of bringing industry-level awareness and knowledge to members where that knowledge would affect the way business is done.
• AACO is also very active in creating opportunities for networking amongst its members, as well as between them and other stakeholders. This is done through a large number of events AACO convenes annually.
Sustainability is a major focus for global aviation. What initiatives are AACO and its members undertaking to reduce carbon emissions and promote greener operations?
Arab airlines were at the forefront, with other industry stakeholders, of developing the global sustainability programmes that were developed by ICAO, particularly CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) and the Long-Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) of net-zero emissions by 2050. However, the work on sustainability does not stop here. AACO members have the youngest fleet anywhere in the world, which means their carbon footprint is less than other airlines per passenger carried.
In 2019, the average aircraft age in the Arab fleet was 7.2 years. Now, unfortunately, and because of the supply chain crunch, it has become nine years, which is still much less than the average age of the global fleet which is 12 years. Moreover, the average number of seats with AACO members is 214 seats per aircraft, while globally, the number does not even reach 200. So, to start with, the environmental footprint of AACO members is better than other airlines around the world. However, that does not mean that we can sit and do nothing. AACO members will continue their drive to maintain the youngest fleet in the world.
The Arab region, especially the oil-producing countries, are advancing plans to produce, in a short period of time, low-carbon aviation fuel, which helps reduce emissions against Jet A1 by around 15 per cent. That would enable airlines, when available, to meet obligations under CORSIA, while building capacity towards meeting the long-term target of net-zero emissions. Countries in the region are also planning to develop e-SAF, which promises to be the real game changer in meeting that goal. The Arab region is vast with enormous capabilities for producing SAF by renewable energies, especially solar energy.
The problem we are facing in the sustainability quest for the world air transport is not the lack of will from airlines. It is the lack of sensible regulations from some regulators around the world. We believe that developing SAF and e-SAF should be done through incentives rather than penalties. We also believe that resolving the issue of congestion in infrastructure, both at airports and air traffic management levels, would deliver immediate benefits to mitigating air transport carbon footprint. Our technology partners are working on delivering net-zero emissions assets. Yet, they need help from States to expedite delivering those new technologies in airframe and propulsion systems. The weight of this mission should not be born solely by airlines and their customers, otherwise the impact is going to be too heavy for those airlines to bear, which would suppress demand and contract our contribution to economic development and job creation.