Sustainable Skies, Unstable Grounds: International Air Transport Association, 2024

Chair

Jackson Kuster

With climate change, armed conflicts, and a global pandemic, it has not been an easy decade for the world’s airlines. Despite this, these firms still operate thanks to the International Airlines Trade Association (IATA) which from its headquarters in Montréal, Canada, and from its countless field offices, work in the shadows enabling airlines to operate even when the world seems ever-closer to armageddon.

The heat of world events will be felt at IATA’s 2024 Annual General Meeting, hosted by Emirates Airlines in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Delegations representing IATA’s nearly 3,000 members will convene to address and respond to the most urgent issues facing the industry. These include the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the ongoing climate crisis. With people still needing to travel to conflict zones and with aviation being one of the most polluting industries on Earth, urgent change is needed to prevent public opinion from destroying this once glamorous industry.

Delegates will have to solve the issues at while having to walk the tightrope between corporate profits and the sway of public opinion. Will sustainability prevail? Will the ongoing conflicts on the ground spread to the sky? Or will the tightrope snap and #CancelAirlines will be trendy on X? All of this and more will unfold in a grand convention center on the outskirts of Dubai!

The Dias has decided to format this committee as a specialized committee, due to the nature of IATA, with the association focusing on niche issues and executing both long-term, heavily debated solutions (similar to a General Assembly Committee) as well as short-term on-the-fly decisions to sudden changes in events (similar to a Crisis Committee).

On behalf of the entire Model United Nations team at the University of Miami, The Dias of Sustainable Skies, Unstable Ground is looking forward to seeing you all down in sunny and warm Miami this November!